Just As I Promised
by SmartOotori
Summary: Echizen Rio has finally arrived in Japan after a few problems that happened in America. Disguised as a boy, people confuse her with a certain freshman. When she met a certain senior, will she let go of her problems?
1. Homecoming

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 1 - Homecoming**

_**Normal POV**_

A girl with waist-length green shining black hair with gold cat-like eyes sighed in annoyance, seeing that the one who was picking her up was not here. Her Himalayan black cat with white paws, ears, face, and tail, meowed inside her cage, which was on the girl's suitcase. The girl smiled and got the cat out of the cage. "Don't worry, Kurorin, they'll be here soon." Kurorin purred as her owner started scratching her behind the ears.

"Rio-chan!!" The black haired girl turned around to see her cousin, Meino Nanako, running towards her. Behind her was a boy with green shining black hair with gold cat-like eyes, almost the same height as the girl with the cat, and the same face. Rio smiled and waved at her family. Kurorin jumped out of Rio's arms and into the boy's arms. The boy smiled and scratched the cat behind her ears. "Nice to see you too, Kurorin," Kurorin meowed and Rio chuckled. "Kurorin gets a hug and I don't?"

Nanako hugged her and kissed her on her cheek. "I missed you! I was wondering why you didn't come with the rest of the family." Rio laughed nervously and looked at the boy, as if she was sending him a message. He shook his head, making the girl relax. "Mou, Ryoma, why don't you give your sister a hug?" Nanako said. Ryoma sighed and hugged his sister. "I missed you." He whispered in her ear. Rio smiled and repeated what he said. They heard a disgruntled meow and looked down to see the Himalayan cat being squished by both of them. They laughed and let go of each other. Kurorin was back in her owner's arms as the three of them walked towards the waiting taxi.

"Where's oyaji and kaa-san?" Rio asked. "Oyaji's car broke down just as we were leaving the driveway so they both stayed and made us go ahead." The girl laughed. "That's so him! Ah, I would've given anything just to see his face." Nanako and Ryoma laughed along with her. "Here we are." The three looked out to see a temple with a bell behind it. Rio raised an eyebrow. "So this is where we're staying for the time being?" Ryoma nodded. "The monks are on vacation so we decided to stay here until we find a good house." They got out and was about to ring the doorbell when…_GONG!_

"What the hell was that…?" Rio asked. "Oji-san's the one in charge of hitting the bell." Nanako led her to the kitchen, where her mother, Echizen Rinko, was making dinner. She turned around and hugged Rio. "Oh my darling baby, how I missed you!" Ryoma had to stifle his laugh when he saw his sister turning blue. Rinko let go of her daughter and smiled. "You're finally here." She looked at Ryoma. "I cleaned your room and put another bed in it. All the stuff that was on the floor is in a box." Ryoma blushed and started grumbling about 'my things.' Rinko laughed and smiled at her only daughter. "You'll be sharing a room with your brother. Is that ok?" Rio laughed. "Okaa-san, you know as well as we know that it's ok. It's been a while since I shared a room with him." The attorney smiled and nodded. "Well, I'll call you when dinner's ready. Meanwhile, why don't you wander around the place?" The girl smiled and nodded. Ryoma walked up to her and showed her the way to his, I mean, their room.

It was a simple blue-walled room. There was a single tennis poster on the left side of the wall and Ryoma's bed as well the box their mother mentioned. On the other side was a bed similar to Ryoma but with red bed sheets. On that bed was Kurorin and another Himalayan white cat with brown ears, face, tail, and paws. The white Himalayan jumped and landed on Rio. "Nice to see you too, Karupin," Karupin purred and rubbed his face next to Rio's face. She smiled and placed him next to Kurorin, both cats starting playing with each other. She looked around and saw Ryoma hovering over the box.

"So…" Ryoma jumped and faced his sister. "What ya got there, Oma-chan?" Ryoma twitched. "Don't call me that!"

"Aw… I thought you missed that nickname."

"No I don't, it's ridiculous, Ririn-chan."

It was Rio's turn to twitch. "Ok ok, truce." She went to her bag and got out a black tennis racket and a tennis ball. "So, where's the court?" Ryoma smirked and also got out his red racket. He led her to the back to the court. The bell was near the court and on it was their father, Echizen Nanjirou, also known as the Samurai, reading porno books. Rio smirked then suddenly made a fishing pole appear and hooked it on her father's book. She reeled it in, causing her father to fall and dangle since his leg is still tied to the bell string. His eyes widened when he saw his daughter. "RIO-CHAN!!!" The latter winced. "Shut up, oyaji," Nanjirou twitched. "Still haven't changed…" Then he suddenly started to laugh nervously. "Could you guys help me down here?"

"So, Rio-chan, how are you?" Nanjirou asked his daughter while rubbing the bump on his head. Yea, Rio and Ryoma's 'help me down' was cutting the rope, making their father fall on his head. "Just dandy, oyaji," Rio walked towards the court and smirked. "Who's up for a match until kaa-san calls?"

* * *

Rinko served western food for dinner. It was roasted chicken with mash potatoes and coleslaw. The siblings were disgusted. Their mother forgot that they like Japanese food. It was delicious nonetheless. The whole family ate and talked until it was time that the kids were put to bed. "I already enrolled you to Seishun Gakuen, Seigaku for short." Rio smiled and thanked her mother.

Ryoma and Rio joined the two beds together. They've been together for so long; it's hard when they're separated. It felt like half of their bodies were gone. Karupin and Kurorin snuggled next to each other at the foot of their beds. Ryoma immediately fell asleep, soon beginning his drool session. Rio chuckled and looked at the ceiling and smiled.

'_I'm finally home…'_

* * *

**Well... New Story... Writer's Block... Inspiration... **

**Never mind, I got addicted to Prince of Tennis. HEHEHEHE!!! ^.^**

**Anyway: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS!**


	2. Two Echizens

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 2 – Two Echizens**

_**Normal POV**_

Echizen Rio smugly smirked while Echizen Ryoma sulked on the way to school. _'That's what happens when you bet against Oyaji.'_

_-Flashback: This Morning-_

_Rio started twitching when she saw the green girl's uniform with pink ribbon. "Won't that look cute on you?" Rinko said, hugging her daughter. "Kaa-san, why this? You know I hate skirts!" Rinko pouted. "Demo, Rio-chan…" _

_Outside Rio and Ryoma's room was Ryoma and his father, betting on what Rio would do to the helpless uniform. "1000 yen she'll rip the uniform to shreds." Ryoma said. "1000 yen she'll beat you to a pulp to get one of your uniforms." Nanjirou smirked. _

"_Rio-chan, it's been a while since I saw you in a skirt." Rinko said, raising the uniform. "Plus, it's really cute." Rio was getting ticked off so she looked for the person she can vent her anger. "RYOMA!!!!" The said boy's eyes widened and started to run out of the house. She caught up to him easily and started to give him a major noogie. "Where do you put all your uniforms?" Ryoma tried struggling out of her grasp. "I'm not telling!!" _

"_Just call mercy, Ryoma." Nanjirou smirked. _

_-End of Flashback-_

In the end, she got her brother's uniform and put her hair up in a wig that's similar to Ryoma's hair and got her tennis bag and school bag. Ryoma sulked all the way to school while Rio counted the money she got by forcing her father to give it to her. "Thanks Ryoma for the money. I'll treat you later."

When they arrived at school, there were people whispering around them.

"Ah! There's two Ryomas!"

"Which one's the real Ryoma?"

"Is he his twin?"

"Echizen Twins!!"

Ryoma and Rio sighed and walked towards the school office. In the school office, Ryoma had to get out or else the secretary might get a nosebleed from looking who's who. "Anyway, Echizen-san, it says here that you're enrolled as a girl." Rio twitched. "Um, I'm sorry. Okaa-san always wanted a girl and thought I was a girl." The secretary laughed and nodded. "Don't worry, Echizen-san, we'll keep your secret." She gave Rio her schedule and the classes with room numbers on them. "You have the same classes as your brother so he can guide you through all of them." The crossdresser bowed and left to find her brother talking to three boys.

"Oi, Echizen, come on, we're going to be late." The brown haired boy said. "I'm waiting for someone." Rio smiled and walked up to him. "I'm done, Ryoma, let's get to class." The three boys had their mouths on the floor. Ryoma smirked and led Rio to their class.

_**Rio's POV**_

I enjoyed making fun of Horio Satoshi, who's still shocked that the Echizen Ryoma has a twin brother. Well, I'm disguised as a boy so just let him think that. After classes, I was jumped on by a girl named OsakadaTomoka. "So you're Echizen Rio-sama, right?" I nodded. "Sakuno, now there are two for us to get one each!"

"Tomo-chan!" A girl with burgundry brown hair in pigtails blushed and walked up to me. "It's nice to meet you, Rio-kun. I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno." I smiled as I remembered that surname. "Nice to meet you too, Sakuno-san."

I saw Ryoma walking towards the tennis courts. I bet he's practicing. I was about to follow him when I was stopped by a tall brown haired boy with glasses. I would've thought he'd be a teacher here but I saw him wearing the school uniform. "Echizen Rio?" I nodded. He started walking to the staff office, making me think that I was to follow him.

We arrived and walked up to an old lady that I know. I smirked. "Hello, Babaa." I saw her twitch. "You still haven't changed, Rio." She stood up and hugged me. "Out of the two of you, you're my favorite, but don't tell him that." I laughed and hugged her back. We heard a cough and let go of each other. "Anyway Rio, you're going to join the tennis club right?" I nodded. She looked at the tall guy. "That's Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain of the tennis club." I bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Buchou." He bowed also. "It's nice to meet you too, Echizen." Tezuka-buchou then looked at babaa. "Ryuzaki-sensei, why did you need me here?"

"Rio will be one of the regulars, even if we have eight regulars." His eyes went wide. "Demo Ryuzaki-sensei, won't that be against the rules?" I laughed. "I bet you bribed the tennis association." Babaa twitched. "No I didn't Rio, that father of yours talked to them." My eyes went wide. "It's not like him to do that. I wonder what he wants…" I mumbled. "Anyway, Tezuka, he'll be the exception. The tennis association says he's allowed to play in the tournaments." Tezuka-buchou nodded and was about to walk out when Babaa stopped him. "Why don't you introduce Rio to everyone, seeing that he'll be there starting tomorrow."

When we were walking past the courts, I saw the regulars playing against each other. I saw Ryoma playing against a guy with black hair and dark purple eyes. He has a powerful smash I tell ya. I smirked. I can't wait to play against him. In another court, I saw a black haired boy with a bandana on his head playing against a guy with brown hair who keeps on saying "BURNING!" I nervously laughed. He's a wild one… The last pair made me double-take. A guy with black hair and bangs was playing against a red hair guy who does acrobatic play. I would've never thought I would meet a player like that besides me. I stared at him until he turned and waved at me. I blushed and turned away.

Now, I'm sitting in the clubhouse with the captain and a guy whose eyes are always closed and a smile on his face. "Hi, you must be Echizen Rio." I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Rio-san, I'm Fuji Syuusuke." I smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Fuji-senpai." The door burst open and in came the regulars. They stopped talking when they saw me and turned their heads to face Ryoma. They kept doing that until they screamed. "Stop it!" They all shut up when Tezuka-buchou yelled. I stood up and introduced myself. "I'm Echizen Rio, Ryoma's twin brother and your ninth regular." I smirked when Ryoma smirked and stood beside me.

The black haired boy with the powerful smash smiled and shook my hand. "I'm Momoshiro Takeshi, but you can call me Momo-chan."

The next to guy introduce himself was a guy with dark blue hair and glasses. "I'm the team's manager, Inui Sadaharu."

"I'm Kawamura Takashi." My eyes widened when I realized that this shy and timid guy was the guy who kept on saying "BURNING!"

"I'm Oishi Shuichiro, the Vice-Captain of the club." I smiled. I felt a motherly prescence in him.

"Kaido Kaoru." All of us sweatdropped at his introduction, he started hissing when we all looked at him. It kinda creeped me out but I know he has his reasons.

I realized the last person to introduce himself was the red head. I slightly blushed but hid it before anyone could see it. "Hi, I'm Kikumaru Eiji, nya!" I mentally giggled when he added nya. I smiled. "It's nice to meet all of you. I hope to work beside all of you."

Suddenly I was glomped by Kikumaru-senpai. "Nya, you look so cute! Why don't you smile more like your brother, Ochibi-chan?" I blushed and glared at my brother who was stifling his laugh. I felt him being pulled off me by Oishi-senpai. "Eiji, don't do that to our kohai k?" Kikumaru-senpai pouted. "But can I do it in the future?" Oishi-senpai sighed. "You know I can't stop you." I nervously laughed. I saw Ryoma already changed and was outside. "Anyway, it's time for me to go. I'll see you all tomorrow!"

-------------

_**Normal POV**_

Rio trudged after her brother and smirked. "So when are we gonna play that game?" Ryoma looked at her and smirked. "After the district preliminaries, we'll all give them one week to find out." Rio laughed and looked at the sky. "I wonder who's the next to find out, the only ones who knew were Nanako-nee-san, kaa-san and oyaji."

Unbeknownst to them, a junior was cycling behind them. He smirked and rushed past them. The twins, mostly Rio, were shocked. Not because Momoshiro Takeshi was in front of them with wide eyes, no. It's because Rio was standing there with her wig off and her waist-length hair down, wildly flying around her because of the wind. Momo started pointing at her with a shaky finger. "You're…a girl…" Rio glared at him and grabbed him at the scruff of his shirt. "Tell anyone and you're my main course." He blushed and nodded.

"You know, you look cute," Momo said walking. Rio took his bike and started riding it. The girl blushed and glared at him. "Thanks but I get that a lot from my mom." He laughed. "So you have a twin** sister**?" Ryoma glared at him. "Shut up, Momo-senpai," They passed by the burger shop, making Rio stop. "I forgot. Remember you told me that Momo-senpai's going to treat us?" Ryoma smirked. "Oh yeah, since he's our senpai and all," The twins smirked at the helpless junior.

"You're just as merciless as your brother." Momo said while sadly looking at his leftover 200 yen. They all arrived at the Echizen house. Rio reluctantly gave his bike back and walked in. "Oi, not even a 'see you later, senpai'?" Rio smirked. "Thank you for telling yourself that."

"Scratch that, you look like a kitten compared to your cat of a sister." Momo whispered to Ryoma. The latter glared at him. "You just don't know her yet." And with that, Ryoma left Momoshiro Takeshi confused outside the gate.

-------

It was Rio's first practice and she regretted ever attending. In front of her was a glass filled with some green substance that all the regulars, minus the tensai and the captain, are scared of. The cross dresser nervously laughed. "Um…why do I have to drink this?" Inui smirked. "Because you were 5 seconds over the time limit," Rio's eyes widened. "5 SECONDS??! It's just 5 seconds!" The manager's glasses glistened and he placed the green substance filled glass in her hands. "We can't start practice if you don't drink it."

Everyone in the Seigaku Tennis Club prayed for her health. Rio gulped and drank the Inui Juice in one breath. Everyone was waiting for her reaction. Although, the cup was still on her mouth and her eyes were closed. 5 seconds had passed and still no movement. 20 seconds, by then, Ryoma was getting worried and was about to make a move when Eiji started poking her stomach. By the fourth poke, Rio started falling backwards like a domino. "Rio!" The male twin ran to his sister and started shaking her awake. Her eyes were half closed and she pointed up at nowhere. "Look at all the tiny Karupin and Kurorin…" She loonily said and blacked out.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Momo hysterically laughed, causing him to fall backwards. Tezuka glared at him to shut up. The dunk smasher caught that and stopped with only a few stifles of giggles. Rio woke up a few minutes later with a major headache. "I am NEVER drinking that stuff again." She said shaking in disgust.

The regulars were having practice matches while Rio sat on the benches. She explained to everyone that she won't play in any of the tournaments but willing to help them get stronger. It sounds like she's a manager rather than a regular but she has her reasons. Then she was called up to play a match against Momoshiro Takeshi. "Demo, he won't play his best." Everyone had wide eyes, well except for Fuji and Tezuka. "How does he know?" A boy named Kato Kachiro asked. Rio grinned and pointed her black racket at her senpai's right ankle. "It's not fully healed. You sprained it like about 2 weeks ago, am I right?" Momo's eyes went wide. "Sugoi!" A boy named Mizuno Katsuo said. Momo smirked. "Don't worry. It'll be good rehabilitation." The disguised girl sighed and walked to the reciever's side. "I'll let you serve first senpai."

And so the match began. "One set match between Echizen and Momoshiro. Momoshiro to serve." The latter made his serve, which Rio easily returned. They started a very long rally, neither wanting to lose. Rio sighed in aggravation and lobbed the yellow ball. Momo smirked and jumped to do his signature move, the Dunk Smash. The ball whizzed past the smirking girl wearing a white green sleeved shirt and a hat similar to her brother. "15-love," Inui said, as he is the judge for this match.

Echizen Ryoma noticed that and copied his sister. The tensai looked at his kohai and cocked his head to the side and asked him what's wrong. "He's not even playing seriously. Rio's just playing with him." Fuji smiled, well he always smiles. "How can you tell?" He said over the noise. "Well, he does ten signals to show his evolving personality. Zero to two, he's playing with his opponent; three to 5, he's mildly serious; 6 and above, he's serious." The senior's eyes opened but quickly closed them and looked at the game with Momo leading 3-1.

Rio just did the basics with Momo, making him shake with anger. "Why aren't you doing anything?" She looked at him with a fake puzzled look as she returned the ball. Momo returned it, causing Rio to lob it again. Momo smashed the poor ball, whizing past the twin. "Love-15," Inui said while recording data. The disguised Echizen was bouncing the ball, getting ready to serve. She was holding her racket at her left hand. She threw the ball up and hit it with intense power. The ball landed on the ground and twisted off, aiming at Momo's face. His eyes were wide and dodged the ball.

Ryoma was smirking. "Number one," Kaido looked at him. "He purposely lost 3 games to collect data. He's coming." He looked and saw her racket was being held by her right hand. "Number two," Rio made a slice serve, making Momo curve away from the ball. "30-15," Everyone was at awe. The recently losing Echizen was gaining fast. Momo smirked. "Finally, you did something." Rio looked at him with a smirk. "Well, duh. Why would I lose to you?" The girl served and ran towards the net, stoping only on the service line, smirking. She then started to do small hops and a few gasped. "She's doing the split step!" Horio exclaimed. Momo's racket was about a few centimeters from the ball when Rio hopped with her left foot to the right where the receiver returned the ball to the right corner. She lobbed it, making Momo think that he was winning. When the receiver was up in the air, Echizen Rio raised her racket. "Forfeit," she said.

"WHAT?!" Momo yelled. He jumped over the net and grabbed Rio by the scruff of her shirt. "Why did you forfeit?" The captive girl glared at him. "If you smashed the tennis ball, I would've returned it, but you'll chase after it, going to try to return it, but it'll redirect towards you thus might've re-sprained your ankle." He was speechless. "How did you know what was going to happen?" Rio smacked his hand, making him release her. "Past experiences, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going home." She walked out of the court, all eyes were following her until she disappeared inside the clubhouse. Ryoma frowned and was about to run to the clubhouse when he saw his red head senpai walking inside with a frown on his face. Inui, Fuji and Oishi noticed it. Oishi smiled while Fuji kept his sadistic smile and Inui muttering about 'data.'

Inside, Rio was sitting with her hugging her legs on a bench. _'I don't like hurting people… especially since-'_

"Rio?" Her head snapped up to see concerned blue eyes. She blushed but quickly hid it. "What happened?" Rio shook her head. "It's nothing, senpai. It's just I didn't want Momo-senpai to get hurt and with the district prelims, well, you know." Eiji smiled. "Why can't your brother be like you?" The crouched girl chuckled. "Anyway, are you sure you're ok?" Rio nodded and smiled. "Thanks for worrying but I'll be fine."

"Eiji!"

"Oops, gotta go. I'll see ya tomorrow!" He said running towards the remaining regulars. Rio smiled but then realized something. _'Why would Kikumaru-senpai be worried at me when he just met me yesterday?'_

_**Eiji's POV**_

When I saw his frowning face, well, I don't know, it made me feel sad too. Unconciously, I followed him to the clubhouse. Next thing I knew, I saw myself inside looking at Echizen Rio. Ok, I admit, I was worried. When I asked him what happened, I saw in his eyes that he was lying. Instead of pressing him on, I just made a comment about his difference between him and ochibi-chan. Hm… I have to think of a nickname for him… hm…

"Eiji!" When I heard that, I ran towards the owner of the voice then suddenly realizing something. _'Why would I be worried at Rio when I just met him yesterday?'_

**_

* * *

_****_Is it too early to bring that out? *shrugs*_**

**_Anyway, this took me... 3 days to finish! Am I awesome or am I awesome? I'm just kidding. ^.^ But seriously, I don't update stories too early so everyone please be patient!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. If I did, Eiji would've been real and going out with me. ^^''_**

**_Plus, I had to research on tennis information... You know, slice serves, etc. It was fun yet confusing at the same time..._**

**_Thanks to all that reviewed!!! You all made my day..._**


	3. Would the Past Be Forgotten?

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 3 – Would the Past Be Forgotten?  
**

_**Ryoma's POV**_

"Ne, nii-san," My sister looked up from working on our seatwork. "Why aren't you playing in the tournaments?" She sighed and gave me a note. _You know why. I just don't want history to repeat itself. Besides, with all your hard work, I would hate myself if I played and you losing your chance at being best._I frowned. I know that she's better than me, heck she beat me with only one eye open, but for her to say no to a tournament, it's like hell freezes over. I saw her shake her head and continued her seatwork. I continued to frown and worked on my seatwork. _'Nee-san, you would stop playing tennis because of that?'_

----

I continued to observe Rio throughout the whole practice. She only showed two signals and still beat Kawamura-senpai, and then I was suddenly kissed by a runaway tennis ball. I rubbed my cheek and glared at the culprit. "Gomen, gomen, but it's your fault too." I continued to glare at him while I served. _'She always goes mildly serious when playing then would beat her opponent at the fifth signal.'_ I thought, returning the yellow ball to the receiver. "Out!" My eyes went wide. I shook my head while pinching the bridge of my nose. "Oi, you ok?" I looked up and saw a worried Momo-senpai. "I forfeit because I think you're troubled, am I right?" I glared at him and started walking away from him, towards the court where Rio was playing against Oishi-senpai.

Again, she only showed two signals and beat her opponent. I met her at the gate and stared at her. She stared at me, and like she knew what I was thinking, maybe it's twin telepathy, "Look, as I told you, you know why. Besides, you worked hard for your regular spot. I was just squeezed in because of oyaji, which reminds me, I have to find out why he bribed the tennis association…"

"Mizu-chan!" Both of us turned and faced our happy-go-lucky senpai with confused faces. "Ah, gomen, gomen, nya, I was referring to your brother." Rio paled at the nickname and I had to refuse the urge to laugh at her face. "Mizu-chan…?" She asked. Kikumaru-senpai smiled. "Yea, since your name in Japanese means 'jasmine thread' and thought it was too girly for you, then I found out your name could mean 'river' in Spanish, so I thought that Mizu-chan could be a good nickname for you, like your brother's Ochibi-chan!" She stared at me and telepathy-like said, _Mizu-chan?! I'm being called WATER?!_ I walked away from her so I can hide that fact I want to laugh out loud.

'_Gomen nee-san, you're on your own on this one…'_

------

_**Normal POV**_

'_Mizu-chan? It's worse than Ririn-chan…' _ Rio kept on thinking as she was cleaning the clubhouse, courtesy of Tezuka being all buchou on her since she disobeyed his orders and snuck out to grab a bite to eat. The door opened to reveal Kaido walking in. "Ah, Kaido-senpai, did you forget something?" She asked. "…bandanna…" Rio sweatdropped. _'Is that all he forgot?'_ Then she realized he wasn't wearing his usual bandana, his black hair was in a wild style and he was wearing his blue sleeveless shirt and white shorts with a towel on his shoulders. "Ah, are you going to train, senpai?" Kaido nodded and went to his locker. Rio continued to clean and started to hum a recent song she heard on the radio.

The junior started staring at her until he had this image of Echizen Rio with long hair in a green sundress. He blushed, shaking his head, knowing that that won't happen and walked out. "Ne, senpai," Kaido turned to face Rio, who had a smile on her face. "Can I jog with you in the mornings?" He gave a small smile and nodded, jogging away to do his usual training. Rio smiled and finished cleaning. She locked the clubhouse and walked towards the burger shop where Momo and Ryoma were about to order to food.

Rio arrived to see Sakuno and Tomoka. She gave them a small wave then noticed that they were staring at the two regulars who were talking to a girl with strawberry red hair, lavender sweater with white skirt and black leggings. Rio was curious as to how she knew them and saw that the girl left, carrying her pink tennis bag with her. She walked up to the two Seigaku regulars who she saw was glaring at each other. "What's wrong with you two?" She asked, tightening her grip on her dark green tennis bag. Ryoma and Momo ignored her and started to order, thus turning into a competition on who could eat a lot of food. Rio sat across the two boys with a sigh. "What's wrong with you two?" She repeated.

"There's only one spot left for singles, right?" Ryoma said with his mouth full, making it hard to understand but being his sister, she sighed. "So you two are fighting over on who would get the singles spot?" They both nodded and continued to eat like pigs. Rio sighed and started munching on the fries that she ordered.

---------

Rio skid the bike into a halt when she saw the two boys sitting. She got off and rolled the bike to them. "See what happens when you eat too much?" The two boys glared at her. "Shut up." Rio shrugged and sat next to Momo. "Ne, singles 1 and 2 are usually Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-senpai, and doubles 1 are Oishi-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai." Momo stated. "Singles 3 should be me." Ryoma and Momo said and glared at each other. "I don't do well in doubles." Ryoma stated. "Well, so do I."

"Huh? You do well in doubles, Ryoma." The male twin glared at his 10 minute older sister. "Yeah, when I play with you, but with someone else, I suck." Momo smirked. "Then we should let your sister play in doubles with you and I play singles 3." Rio chuckled. "Fat chance, I won't be playing unless you REALLY need me."

In the end, Echizen Ryoma and Momoshiro Takeshi decided to have a tennis match to see who would get singles 3. "Boys," Rio muttered while following the two towards a street tennis court. She changed into her tennis clothes seeing that there might be some action. Instead of wearing her wig, she let her waist-length hair down. When she was done, she saw Momo and her brother talking to two boys. The female twin looked around and saw the same girl from the burger shop. She walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Name's Echizen Rio of Seigaku, and yours?" The red haired girl smiled. "Tachibana Ann of Fudomine," Rio smiled. "So why did you make my brother and Momo-senpai go against each other?" Ann chuckled. "No reason, seeing that he's the prodigy and he's known for his dunk smash, I figured that something might happen. Plus, my brother and his team could use some excitement." Rio smirked. Tennis ball were heard being rallied making her turn her head to see Momo and Ryoma playing doubles, not in a harmonious way, but they're winning alright. The girl groaned, making the red head female laugh. "Their first time?" Rio nodded and sighed. "I just wished they don't tarnish the name Seigaku with their horrible doubles play, even if it is unofficial."

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_**Rio's POV**_

I watched as Momo-senpai and Ryoma played against Gyokurin's Doubles players, Izumi Tomoya and Fukawa Kimiyoshi. They have no harmony at all! It was hard not to tear my eyes away from them, fearing that something else might happen. When I saw that they missed a ball in the middle, Gyokurin players were announced winners. I groaned and hit them both at their big heads. "What's wrong with you two?!" I yelled, causing Momo-senpai and Ryoma to blush embarrassedly. "Ne, Rio-chan," I turned my head to see Tachibana-san leaving. "I'll see you boys at the prelims. I hope to see you too, Rio-chan." I nodded. "Ja, Tachibana-san," She smiled. "Just call me Ann." And then she left me with two baboons. I glared at them again and started to walk towards the woods. "Oi, nee-san," I heard Ryoma say. "Tell mom I'll be out for a while."

When I was deep into the woods, I started to hit the poor yellow ball at a tree's trunk. I kept hitting it until my arms ached. I took off the weights on my arms and continued hitting the tennis ball. "What are you doing?" I turned around to see Fuji-senpai with a frown on his close-eyed face. "Just reliving the feeling of a really long rally," I said while hitting the tennis ball. I noticed that there's a mark on the center of the trunk, realizing that I've been hitting on the same spot over and over again. I sighed and caught the ball in my hand, turning to face Fuji-senpai. "What are you doing here?" I saw him make a small smile. "I was just in a clearing stargazing when I heard something being hit so I went to check it out."

I grinned and started bouncing the ball on my racket. "Che, I was just bored so I went here to train for a while. Now that I've got my daily dose of tennis, I think I should go home now." Fuji-senpai smiled. "I'll walk you home, seeing that it's dangerous for a girl like you to be out this late." I had the urge to hit my forehead. I forgot that only Momo-senpai knows that I'm a girl. I weakly smiled. "Iie, it's ok. I can manage. I've been going out here for 3 weeks." I lied, starting to walk out of the woods. I heard footsteps following me and inwardly groaned. _'What did I get myself into??'_ I thought as I tried to outrun him.

I ran towards the sports store and hid in the alley. I waited until I saw him pass by my hiding spot. I got out and ran back to the bathroom where all my things are. I hastily wore my wig and uniform and looked around to see the coast is clear. I sighed and as soon as I was going down the stairs, Fuji-senpai yelled. "Echizen, what are you doing here?" He asked when he caught up to me. I smirked. "I'm Rio, senpai, and I was just passing by here to see street tennis." I pretended to look curious as to why he was here. "Oh I was stargazing but then I saw this kawaii girl hitting a tennis ball on a trunk of a tree." I blushed when he said I was 'cute' and turned my face away from him, trying to hide my blush. "Ne, can I walk you home?" I nodded without looking at him and continued my way home with the tensai of Seigaku walking next to me.

We chatted aimlessly and found out a lot about each other. Fuji-senpai likes apples and photography. "Stolen pictures are my forte. It's more natural rather than a pose shot since it's like they're forced to pose." He said while I smiled. "Ne, I want to take a picture of you and your brother when I have my camera, k?" I looked at him. "Why?" The tensai smiled. "I want to try and tell you both apart so I won't make that same mistake today." I chuckled. "You go and do that, senpai. The only people who knew were our parents and Meino-nee-chan." I walked up to the Echizen house gate and smiled. "Good night, senpai."

-----------

It was a Sunday and I had the need to just walk around the city, but that didn't happen. Instead, I was stuck training a bunch of noobs who don't know a single thing about doubles. "You guys bought…a 'doubles for beginners' book…?" I slowly said, trying to let every word sink in. When I saw them blush, I started to laugh. "You, haha, seriously, haha, bought that?!" They both glared at me. "Shut up, at least I'm not laughing at you, Ririn-chan." I stopped laughing and glared at Momo-senpai. "How did you know?" He pointed at my twin brother. I glared at him and tossed him a tennis ball. "You, me, court, NOW." I saw his eyes widen and smirked. "Fine," I walked up to the court near the temple and emitted a very dark aura around me. My nickname is only for my family and some who are special to me. I basically don't know much about Momo-senpai so he's not someone special, yet. "I'll murder you, Ryoma, I told you not to tell anyone about that nickname!"

"Well, it was by accident," He said while serving. I saw the ball's spin was different, thus causing me to turn a bit and return his famous Twist Serve. I heard a gasp emit from our senpai when he saw I made a return ace. I smirked. "Number one,"

_**Normal POV**_

In the end, Ryoma was seriously beaten up by his sister 6-0. Momo was scared when he saw how demon-like Rio became. According to Ryoma, she showed 6 signs before she dropped the bomb. The male twin lied on his back as he was tired from the game. "GET UP YOU SLACKER!!" Rio yelled. Ryoma groaned as he sat up, glaring at his sister. "You have to train for doubles since you already volunteered for Doubles 2." She smirked and tied her hair into a ponytail. "If you need me, I'll be inside drinking your supply of Ponta." It took Ryoma seconds before he yelled, "MY PONTA!!!"

----------

The disguised girl walked up to her team while whistling You Got Game by Kimeru. "Ne, Mizu-chan," she twitched and looked behind her to see the Golden Pair. "What is it, Kikumaru-senpai?" Eiji smiled and glomped her. "Kawaii!!! Ne, where's Ochibi-chan?" Rio couldn't breathe and was turning blue before Oishi noticing the color change. "Oi, Eiji, he can't breathe!" Eiji yelped and got off her. "Ah, gomen ne, Mizu-chan!!" Rio coughed and smiled. "It's ok, senpai, and to answer your question, he's right behind you."

"OCHIBI-CHAN!" He then glomped Ryoma, who lost his balance and fell. Rio started to laugh and helped her brother up. "Gather everyone." Tezuka said with authority. He held up a piece of paper filled with the registration for Seigaku. "Buchou, you can register eight rather than nine, I'm not playing remember?" Rio said adjusting her Seigaku jersey and the collar of her shirt. Tezuka nodded and gave the form to the staff. Ryuzaki Sumire arrived and led them towards the court where they were playing against Gyokurin, just as Momo and Ryoma predicted. The two smirked and walked up to the net where they both started talking. Rio only caught bits and pieces since Eiji was one-sidedly chatting to her.

Rio then stood up when she saw that the enemy team was leading and was about to go when Fuji asked where she was going to go. "Get some Ponta for Ryoma, I have a feeling he'll need it." When she arrived at the vending machines, she saw Tachibana Ann just a few machines away from her, sitting on a bench, watching a tennis match. She was about to walk up to her when she realized she's disguised as a boy so Ann won't know it's Rio. She sighed and started dribbling a tennis ball with her black racket. Rio walked passed Ann, looking at what she was looking at. She saw that a man with shoulder-length blue hair was leading his game by 3-0. "Um, what school is that?" The disguised girl asked. The red haired looked at her and smiled. "That's Fudomine, my brother's the captain of their tennis team." Her smile turned upside down and curiously looked at her. "Who are you?" Rio nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Um, I'm just someone from Seigaku." She turned around and started walking back to the court where her team was playing.

When she got back, she saw that Momo and her brother won their game. They walked up to Ryuzaki with smiles on their faces. Ryuzaki smiled but then started pinching their cheeks. "THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WATCHING!!" She yelled. Rio laughed at the moment and threw a can of Ponta to Momo and Ryoma, with Ryoma catching it and Momo getting hit on the head by the can. "Watch it, Echizen!" She blew a raspberry at him and gave him a goofy smile.

It was the Golden Pair's turn. Rio was excited to see how they play, and since Eiji could do acrobatic play, she was even more excited! Ryoma felt her excitement and smiled. The game went by in just a blink of an eye! Rio was impressed at their harmonious play. With Eiji's acrobatic play, she smiled. She now wants to play against him, just one game and that's it. Eiji ran up to her and glomped her. "Did ya see me play, nya?" Rio smiled and nodded. "That was great, senpai. Now I know why you and Oishi-senpai are called the Golden Pair." The acrobat smiled. "Ya, Oishi and I go way back since we were freshmen."

The rest of day, Seishun Gakuen, Seigaku for short, won all their matches. It was time for the finals, Fudomine, an unseeded school, and Seigaku, one of the seeded schools that are bound to win. First match, Doubles 2: Fuji and Kawamura of Seigaku and Ishida Tetsu and Sakurai Masaya of Fudomine. Rio watched as the match commenced. When she saw one of Fuji's shots, Tsubame Gaeishi _(Swallow's Return)_, she smiled. "I never knew Fuji-senpai could play like that!" She exclaimed as the match continued. Unfortunately, Seigaku had to forfeit Doubles 2 because of Kawamura's injured wrist. Rio volunteered to escort him to a nearby hospital.

"Kawamura-senpai, is your wrist okay?" Rio asked when they started walking back. "Hai, don't worry it'll heal soon." The two regulars heard gasps emitting from the courts where Seigaku and Fudomine are. They both ran to the courts to see Ryoma on the ground kneeling with his left eye bleeding. Kawamura fainted while Rio jumped along with Sakuno. "Oi, non-regulars are not allowed on the courts," the judge explained. "Demo…" The girl sadly said. "Don't worry," Rio assured as she started leading her brother to the benches. "I'll fix him."

Before anyone could touch the Echizens, Rio glared at them. "First Aid, NOW!" Everyone flinched as they scrambled to get the First Aid Kit. "Ugh, it won't stop bleeding! What the hell happened?" Oishi tried calming her down. "Ibu-san started using something called Spot, making Echizen's arm go numb. Echizen twirled making his racket fly to the pole and its pieces flew to his eye." The older twin's eyes went wide and then sighed. "As much as I want to hit on the head, you're currently hurt." She then smirked. "You want to play huh?" Ryoma nodded. Rio picked up some bandages. "Momo-senpai, get his other racket please. Ryoma, this might sting."

A few minutes later, Ryoma has his eye bandaged and in his hand was a new racket. "You're seriously gonna let him play?" Oishi exclaimed. Tezuka looked at his fukubuchou with authority. Seigaku's mother hen sighed. Tezuka then looked at his ichinen regular. "You have 10 minutes to finish the game." Ryoma nodded. His sister hugged him. "Please be careful, I'm still upset that you got hurt." Rio smiled. "Mada," Ryoma smiked. "Mada," The twins high-fived. "Dane!" The male twin gave her a small smiled and walked back to the courts. "Beat him Ryoma!!"

And that's what he did; Echizen Ryoma beat Ibu Shinji a few seconds before his time limit. Rio smiled and hugged him. "You did it!" Ryoma slightly blushed. "Thanks nee-san," he whispered. Seigaku won the district tournament and now advancing to the Tokyo Prefectuals!!

When Kawamura's father found out, he closed the shop and held a congratulatory party. Ryuzaki suggested that Ryoma's eye should be treated. Rio waved bye to him and started walking next to Fuji with a big smile on her face.

"Ne, Rio," the ichinen twin turned to face her senpai. "What is it, Momo-senpai?" Momo smirked and put her in a headlock before she took a bite of her Californian Maki. "Itai!" Momo smiled. "You looked pretty cool handling your brother's situation. Plus when are you gonna tell them?" Rio glared at him. "It'll be a long time before they will find out. I'll make sure of that." She pinched Momo's arms, making him yelp and let go of her. Eiji grabbed the opportunity to sit next to her. "Mizu-" Rio put her hand in front of his face. "Please senpai, don't call me that. Call me anything but that." The acrobatic frowned but smiled again. "Gomen, I'll just call you Rio-chan, ne?" The twin frowned. "Gomen senpai, I-" Eiji hugged her. "Don't worry, I wondered when you'll crack." The door opened to reveal Echizen Ryoma with new bandages on his eye. After looking at everyone for a minute, he slammed the door closed and was about to run when Momo pulled him in.

The party was fun and crazy. Everyone enjoyed their first tournament victory. Kawamura's father thought that Tezuka was a teacher and offered him some sake. "I'm the captain, Tezuka." The sushi man was shocked. "Ah, gomen," everyone laughed. Eiji stole some of Fuji's sushi. When he ate it, he realized it was wasabi sushi. "Tea!!" Rio laughed at her frantic senpai. Then Momo and Eiji started fighting over another set of sushi. They ruined Shiba's picture with Ryoma. In the end, it was a picture of Ryoma with Sakuno.

Shiba then took the camera and took a picture of Eiji bumping Rio, making her sushi fly towards Oishi's face. The restaurant was quiet. Eiji and Rio's laughter broke the silence. "Gomen, Oishi-senpai…" Rio managed to say between laughing. Oishi grinned and threw a piece of sushi at Rio. She ducked and it hit Momo's face. "HAHAHAHA!!!" Rio laughed, falling on the floor. Momo threw the bowl of sushi to Oishi. He ducked but the person behind him was unlucky. Kaido glared at everyone through the sushi on his face and started hissing. Before Kaido could throw the sushi, Eiji and Rio got up. "SUSHI FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was a good thing that Ryuzaki Sumire and Tezuka Kunimitsu left or else they'd be running laps all night long.

When the Echizen Twins got home, Rio had a big smile on her face with sushi all over her. "Oi, Rio-chan, did a sushi bomb drop on you?" Nanjirou asked. She just grinned at him as she took off her wig and started walking to the bathroom. "How 'bout you, did you enjoy the tournament?" Ryoma grunted as he took off his shoes. Nanjirou started laughing when he saw what was written on Ryoma's bandages.

Rio relaxed inside the tub with a towel on her head. "It's been a while since I had some fun like that…" She whispered as she played with her rubber ducky named Daffy. "Oi, I need to use the bathroom too!" Ryoma banged on the door. "Oh shut up and wait for your turn!" She sighed and sank in the water.

'_Although, is it enough for me to try and forget what happened back then?'_

_

* * *

_

_**WAHOO!!!!! I finally updated!!! My mind was empty of Plot Carrots so.... no Plot Bunnies arrived but when I started watching Prince of Tennis again, my mind was filled with carrots that it over-flowed!!! ^^**_

_**Ahem, sorry about that....**_

_**Anyway, thanks to all the reviewed the last chapter and for all your patience!!! I am in debted to you all....*bows*  
**_


	4. Drive Twist

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 4 – Drive Twist**

_**Rio's POV**_

I panted as I jogged next to Kaido-senpai. It's been a few days since the District and Ryoma and I are still planning that game. I heard Kaido-senpai yell and then yelp. I turned and saw him on the ground with a foot mark on his back and a white handbag next to him. I ran up to him and was about to help him up when a police officer and a frantic woman appeared. "You, come to the police station!" I looked confused but sighed as Kaido-senpai and I were being led to the station.

"Gomen, we thought you were the one that stole the bag." Both of us bowed and started walking away. "I told you, the thief was on rollerblades and was older," we heard the lady. "Not a cute kid like him, plus his friend is adorable." We both blushed. I looked at my senpai when we were far away. "Are you ok, Kaido-senpai?" He nodded and soon we started jogging again. We stopped at a clearing and started stretching. When I was doing my sit-ups, my wig fell off, letting my hair flow out. I scrambled to put it back but it was useless. I saw my senpai with wide eyes. "You're a…" I sighed. "Yes, senpai, please don't tell anyone." It was hard to get angry at Kaido-senpai. Even though he's a bit scary, he's nice and calm. I put my wig in my bag and started combing my hair. _'Ugh, I hate these knots…'_ I angrily thought. I then felt someone take the comb and started undoing the knots. "I used to do this for my mom when she used to have long hair." I blushed and thanked my senpai. I put my hair into a high ponytail and continued our run.

'_How are we going to play that game…?'_ I thought as I jogged. Suddenly, I was splashed by something sticky. I turned and saw Kaido-senpai with a can of coke on his head and a green bag in his hands. "Uh, senpai?" I nervously said as I tried to calm him down. _'I guess it's another trip to the station…'_

"Thank you for your help." Again, we bowed and started walking away. "It's rare to see nice kids these days." The police said. "He's going to grow up to be a fine man. That girl sure is lucky to have him as a boyfriend." My face felt hot. _'Gah, don't go nuts just because of some comment…'_ We started jogging again and this time, I had to separate from Kaido-senpai. "I have to buy a new grip tape. I'll meet you at the street tennis courts in a few."

I jogged to the tennis store and when I went in, I saw Kikumaru-senpai, Kawamura-senpai, the freshmen trio, Ryoma, and Ibu Shinji from Fudomine. I saw my brother fighting over a pack of grip tape. I made eye-contact with him, saying that he's sharing me that grip tape and tried to run out. Unfortunately, I bumped into the door. They should make the push and pull sign larger!!

"Daijoubou?" I was rubbing my head and saw Kikumaru-senpai looking at me with worried eyes. I blushed and looked away. "I'm fine, it's just a bump on the head." I saw him holding out his hand. I grabbed it and he helped me up.

"Ne, doesn't she look a bit like Echizen?" I froze and so did Ryoma. "Nah, she's too cute to be related to Ochibi!" I blushed. "Nya, what's your name?" Kikumaru-senpai asked. "Ootori Kaede," I mentally smirked. It's a good thing that I remembered something from a book I read. "Kawaii!!" Senpai was about to jump on me when Ibu-san cleared his throat. I smiled and opened the door. "I'll see you soon, minna!" I ran out before they could do more research on me.

I ran towards the street tennis courts where I saw Tachibana Ann being held by the wrist by some grey haired guy. "Hey, let go of her!" I yelled. The guy faced me and smirked. He let go of Ann-chan and started walking towards me. He grabbed my chin and said, "I think you'll do better." I glared at him, making him chuckle. "Kawaii," I blushed but continued to glare at him. "Oi, let go of her!" I turned and saw Momo-senpai with Fudomine's Kamio Akira. I got the guy to let go of my hand and ran up to him. "Ann-chan was being held by him so I intervened. He said that if they won, she'd go on a date with him."

"Ann-chan, why did you decided so easily?!" Kamio-san exclaimed. "They were going to play street tennis so –"

"So weaker players are gathering, huh?" I glared at him and was about to smack him when he grabbed my wrist. "Let go of me!" He smirked. "You're cuter than the other girl." I continued to glare at him. Kamio-san and Momo-senpai suddenly decided to play doubles against the grey haired guy and his black haired friend. "If we win, she goes on a date with me." The grey haired guy said. I saw Momo-senpai glare at him. Momo-senpai and Kamio-san borrowed a pair of rackets from the Gyokurin pair. Ann-chan ran up to apologize only to be hit on the head by the dunk smasher. I smirked when I saw Kamio-san getting annoyed at Momo-senpai's closeness to her. They got ready to play except, the grey haired guy sat while letting his friend take all the shots. I frowned at their play style. "Che, that guy's too full in his head, letting his friend take all the shots."

When I saw the chance ball, I smirked. "Go, Momo-senpai!!" My eyes widened when I saw the huge guy return it, almost hitting the dunk smasher. I smiled when I saw him return the ball with a drop shot. "Stop, Kabaji." I frowned as the huge guy stopped when he could've returned the ball. I heard them ask for each other's names. "Hyoutei Gakuen's senior, Atobe Keigo." The guy, Atobe, walked up to me and grabbed my chin. "What's yours?" "Echi-um, Ootori Kaede." If he ever found out that I'm in Seigaku, I'm doomed. He grabbed a lock of my hair and smiled. "What a pretty name for a pretty girl." He then kissed it, making me blush like a total girl. Atobe Keigo smirked and walked away with his friend in tow.

"Rio-chan, why did you give him a false name?" Ann-chan asked. "I didn't want him to know I go to Seigaku. Plus, I don't like him, I hope…" I felt someone glaring at me from behind. I turned and saw Momo-senpai was the one glaring at me. "Don't ever say that you'll like that guy. You're worth more." I raised an eyebrow. "Like you, senpai?" He gave me a shocked look. "No! These past few days, I realized that you're like a little sister to me." I smiled and hugged him. "Thank you senpai, now you can call me that stupid nickname." Momo-senpai grinned. "Hai, hai, Ririn-chan."

We both looked at Ann-chan arguing with Kamio-san. I elbowed my senpai. "You'll be beaten if you just stand there." He blushed making me smirk. "What are you talking about?" When we saw that Ann-chan won, Kamio-san, Momo-senpai, and I left and started walking to no specific place. "Hm, what was I forgetting…?" I wondered out loud. They both looked at me. I looked back at them and finally remembered. "Ah, Kaido-senpai was supposed to meet me at the courts!" We then heard a commotion and saw Kikumaru-senpai running towards us. "Momo, who has the best reflexes in Seigaku again?!" "Eh?!"

I stepped away from my arguing senpais and looked at my surroundings. I saw Kaido-senpai, looking all dirty, chasing Kawamura-senpai who was holding the thief; Ryoma who was holding the bag with the grip tape; Ibu-san doing his habit: mumbling to himself; and the trio just staring at the scene. I then saw the police with the lady who was robbed running towards us. I walked up to Ryoma. "Let's go?" He nodded, got his bag and followed me out of the mess.

_**Normal POV**_

"Regulars, gather around," Tezuka bellowed. "There are nine days before the prefectural tournament begins. From today on, we'll have practice with a special menu. A rally match with limitations to where the ball can land, also known as 'Zone Practice.'"

"Eh, sounds interesting." Eiji commented. Inui stepped in. "The differences between everyone's play styles are as follows:

"Counter Puncher, who stays at the baseline and waits for the opponent's misses with stable strokes: Kaido, Fuji, Oishi.

"Aggressive Baseliner, who also stays at the baseline but fiercely attacks: Kawamura, Momoshiro.

"Serve & Volley, who has talents in both speed and reflexes centered on net play: Kikumaru.

"All-Rounder, who uses different techniques in order to maximize their overall strength: Tezuka, Echizen Twins."

The Data Specialist took out a stick and started pointing at the board behind him. "This time, the counter puncher and the serve & volley, meaning Oishi, Fuji, Kaido and Kikumaru," He pointed at the side where it is fully shaded. "They will guard the entire shaded part of their court." He then moved down to the side where only half the court is shaded in. "Aggressive baseliner and all-rounder – Kawamura, Momoshiro, Tezuka and the twins, they will attack using only half of theirs. A 5-rally match; the players on defense must only return to the shaded part. If you hit outside the shaded part, you lose. As for the attacking players, you will lose if you can't score a point during the 5 rallies."

Ryoma stepped up. "All in all, us attackers just need to score a point within 5 rallies, right?"

"Correct."

Oishi put his finger up. "On the other hand, the defenders win if they don't lose a point in the rallies, right?"

"Yes!"

Light then shined on Inui's glasses. "On top of that, the loser has to drink Inui's special vegetable juice."

Everyone froze, especially Eiji, Kaido, and Rio. They all remembered their past experiences with the disgusting juice. "Ok, start practicing now!" Tezuka yelled, shaking everyone from their thoughts. "Wait, we have uneven players," Oishi stated. Inui smirked. "I've taken care of that. Echizen Rio will have to play me since I'm also serve & volley."

"First match: Kawamura vs Kaido."

"It's a hard combination isn't it?" Katsuo exclaimed. "It's a match between power and breaking balls." Horio noted.

"I'd be unfair to let either side serve so I'll start it off." Inui said with a racket and ball in hand. Kawamura then started to get Kaido in a bad mood. "Don't worry, Kaido-senpai! You can do it!" Rio yelled. Everyone looked at her weirdly. She noticed them and weakly smiled. "Here I go!" Everyone then turned their attention back to the match.

"Kaido-senpai's being pushed back by Kawamura-senpai," Rio said as she saw her senpai do a weird shot. "Kaido no Boomerang Snake!" She titled her head, saying that she's confused. "Oh yea, you were with Taka-san when he did that move against Fudomine." The cross dresser understood and turned her head to see her viper senpai drinking the weird green juice. She gasped when Kaido fainted as soon as he ran out of the court. "Whoa…" She glanced up at her tall senpai. _'I won't lose to him!'_

Everyone watched as the game between Momoshiro and Oishi commenced. It was quickly over when Momo did his specialty: Dunk Smash. Oishi tried to return it, only to have his racket out of his hands. He praised Momo for his growing strength but Inui stood behind him, with a glass of his juice in hand. Oishi yelled and started running. He ran towards the box filled with the regulars' drinking bottles. He tripped and lost consciousness. Rio ran towards the Seigaku hen and tried to wake him up. Eiji followed and helped her.

Everyone was at awe at the unbelievably fast game between Fuji Syuusuke and Tezuka Kunimitsu. _'Zero Shiki Drop Shot…'_ Rio thought as she stared wide-eyes at her buchou. "Shame, it'd have been funny to see buchou drink Inui-senpai's juice." Momo whispered to Ryoma. At the same time, Tezuka turned his head to stare at Momo, who stiffened when he felt Tezuka's stare. Rio stared at Inui as he poured water in a cup rather than the usual green alien juice. The Data Specialist saw that he had Tezuka's bottle and looked at the said person who was already drinking from Inui's bottle.

The regulars stared wide eyed at the brave captain, with Inui waiting for his reaction. "What are you staring at? Hurry and start the next match." That shocked everyone. "Unexpectedly, he seems ok…" Kawamura said. "He must have some tough nerves, I guess…" Momo said. Rio kept staring at her captain with determination in her eyes. When she saw him twitch his arms, she tried to stifle a laugh. "Rio, 10 laps around the courts."

"Eh?" She sighed as she started running. "Nya, Rio-chan, why are you running?" Eiji asked. "Buchou got angry that I laughed at him." When she was done running, she saw her twin running towards the ball cart and Inui. "Watch out, Ryoma!" Ryoma smirked. "Ne, Nii-san, remember when you did that shot? Well, I've always wanted to try it!" Ryoma then hit the ball between his legs. "Acrobatic?! And that's a super hard shot too!" Somehow, Eiji was able to return it and Ryoma was done with his 5 rallies. The female twin shook her head as Ryoma started running to the faucets.

Echizen Rio gulped as she walked up to the net and shake hands with her tall senpai. "I will never drink that Golden Remix whatever it is!!" Inui smirked and adjusted his glasses for it to glint in the sunlight. "We'll see about that, Echizen-ani*," Rio sweatdropped. "You know you could just call me Rio, right?" The Data Specialist just ignored her and stood in between the baseline and service line. She shrugged as she also stood in between the baseline and service line. "Go!" Oishi yelled as he served the ball towards Inui.

He hit a straight shot, letting Rio return it to the other side. "Ikkyuu," Inui chased after it and did a cross shot. The twin ran up to the net, making her play the entire side of her court, and volleyed it. "Nikyuu," he saw her move to the left and hit it to the right. Rio smirked as she did a no-hand back flip and twisted in the air whilst hitting a straight shot. "Huh?! I didn't know Rio could do acrobatics!" Momo exclaimed. "All of us didn't know he could do acrobatics." Fuji said with open eyes. "Wow, that's a really hard move!" Eiji exclaimed with interested eyes. "Sankyuu," Inui's glasses glistened as he returned the ball to the left. "Only two more, Ririn-chan!!" Rio glared at him. "Wakkatta yo**, Momo-senpai!" She said as she returned it to the center service line. Before Inui could return it, she stood center-front of the net and crouched low, below the net. Not knowing where to return the ball, he decided to hit it to the left. Rio leaped to the left and jump to come face-to-face with the ball. She twisted her body in a 360 degree spin whilst hitting the ball to the center. _'__The ball should twist to the other side but it's not even full power__. Inui-senpai could return that.' _Everyone had wide eyes when they saw that shot. As predicted, Inui returned the ball as Rio landed on her feet. She turned and saw her senpai holding a cup of the brown Golden Power Remix Inui Juice. "Um…" She sweatdropped as Inui gave her the cup. When Rio drank it, she started running while holding her hat so her wig won't fall off.

"That was the worst juice ever!!" Rio exclaimed while walking out of school. "But, that shot you did was awesome!!" Momo exclaimed. "What's it called?" Rio was about to answer but her brother beat her to it. "Drive Twist."

"Wow, cool!!" Eiji glomped Rio, making her blush. _'I'm surprised Kikumaru-senpai hasn't felt that I have bumps on my chest.'_ Ryoma smirked, as if he read her thoughts. "Arigatou, senpai. I just made it, I think, last week?"

Before Eiji could say anything, they arrived at the Echizen Household. "We'll see you later!" Momo said as the twins got inside their house. When their senpais were out of sight, they smirked.

"Ashita***?"

"Ashita."

* * *

_***Echizen-ani - age matters in Japan so twins sometimes go "Older Twin (name), Younger Twin (name)"  
In this case, Inui was saying "Older Echizen"**_

_****Wakkatta yo - um, that may be wrong. It may be "Wagatta yo" but ya, that's how I heard it. It means "I know that."**_

_*****Ashita - I think everyone at least knows this, if not, it means "Tomorrow" So the twins were asking, "Tomorrow?" "Yea, Tomorrow."

* * *

**_

_**Ok well, that's how it is!!! One of my friends made (**_**FORCED)_ me to update so I tried to update as fast as I can but the thing is, I was SUPER BUSY!!! But you all may think I live in the States (I used to) but I am currently living in Australia where I currently have school..... :(_**

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it!!!_**

**_Disclaimer: You all know that I don't own Prince of Tennis. If I did own it, I would be living in the US and Eiji would be mine *wink*  
_**


	5. Which is Ryomakun GAME!

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 5 – Docchi ga Ryoma-kun deshooka GAME?!?  
**_(Which is Ryoma GAME?)_

_**Normal POV**_

_-Next Day-_

"Huh? Where are the twins?" Oishi worriedly asked. "You know how Echizen is," Momo said. "If they're twins then they must have the same sleeping habits."

"We could hear you, y'know, Momo-senpai." Everyone turned around to see the twins wearing their school uniform and the same smirk on their faces without anything to give them a clue as to which is which. "You are late, Echizen-futago*." The Echizen twins bowed. "Gomen, buchou, we woke up late, but we also have class duty."

They turned around and the smirk returned. "We've been planning to do this for a while now." Rio said. "It's time to play 'docchi ga Ryoma-kun deshooka GAME!!'" They chorused. Everyone noticed how they were the same in every way, from head to toe. "We'll give the regulars one week to guess." Ryoma said. Their smirk was never wiped off as they walked out of the courts with the same footing and movements. "That's scary…" Momo exclaimed.

**::Day One **(Today)**::**

It was free period for both freshmen and seniors and the twins were chatting in one corner of their classroom. "Hey, did you hear about the new grip tape?" Ryoma asked his sister. Rio nodded. "I was planning to go and get a roll later, wanna come?" Ryoma nodded. "Probability of Echizen sitting on the left: 70%." The twins turned around and looked at him with bored expressions. "People tried that but they don't have proof to prove it." Ryoma said. "Do you have proof?" Rio asked. Inui glanced at the twins with determined eyes. "Um, Echizen-ani is 2cm taller than Echizen."

The two imitated a buzz sound and crossed their arms to make an X. "We checked our heights last night to make sure we have the same height."

When Inui entered class 1-2, the regulars minus Tezuka and the junior regulars were hiding behind the doors. They gasped as their Data Specialist was at a loss for words and walked out with shame hidden behind his glasses.

The team patted Inui on the back. "You did your best, Inui." Fuji said. "Who knew that those two could outsmart Inui?" Oishi exclaimed. "If you're done talking senpai-tachi*," They turned around to see the twins. "The bell's gonna ring." As if on cue, the bell did ring, signaling that Inui Sadaharu, Fuji Syuusuke, Oishi Shuichirou, Kikumaru Eiji and Kawamura Takashi were late for class. "If we get a detention, Tezuka's gonna have our heads, nya~!" They all ran with their tails between their legs. The twins stifled their laughter. They stepped out to reveal that they're holding a bell similar to the school's bell. When Ryoma pulled a string under the bell, it gave off the same ring Seigaku's have. Rio had tears coming down her cheeks and is on the floor laughing. "I can't believe they fell for it!!!"

To bystanders, seeing the usual monotone Echizen laughing would scare them but to the Echizen's, it's normal.

**::Day Two::**

During lunch, Kawamura brought a bento filled with sushi. Why?

_Flashback – Yesterday_

"_Rio likes sushi, ne?" Eiji noted. "Yeah, that's something different between the two." Inui said. "It's decided; Taka-san, you'll bring sushi tomorrow." Fuji said with a smile. "I don't know…"_

_Fuji handed him a racket._

"_BURNING!!!! LOOK OUT ECHIZEN-FUTAGO!!!!"_

_-End of Flashback-_

The Echizen twins got nervous, seeing that Rio might blow their cover. They faced each other and started their 'twin telepathy.' _Don't blow this, Rio! _Ryoma thought. _I know!! _Rio answered.

Somehow, they managed to eat their lunch without Rio raiding the sushi-filled bento. Fuji smirked. "Wow, they're really good…" He said, stretching the last word, making the twins more nervous. "Really, Fuji-senpai? Itadakimasu*!" Momo said as he took one Californian Maki, Rio's favorite sushi. Rio's patience was wearing thin and Ryoma could feel it. He pinched her leg and looked at her. She nodded and both of them stood up at the same time. "Gochisousama*, we have to go back to class." They chorused.

When they were about to walk away, Rio pointed at something. "Look, it's Tezuka-buchou and his girlfriend!!!" The regulars turned their heads and voila! It is Tezuka, and with a girl too!!! Rio sweatdropped. _'It was supposed to be a lie and make you look away but oh well.' _Both of the twins took a piece of sushi and ran for it, one of them being given to the other.

"Oh, Tezuka! I didn't know who have a girlfriend." Fuji said. "A pretty one at that, buchou! Good job!!" Momo said while grinning. Tezuka narrowed his eyes. "This is my cousin, Tezuka Natsumi." Momo's grin was wiped off his face and felt like he was slapped on the face. "O-oh, go-gomen." He then ran off to who-knows-where. The rest soon followed the dunk smasher, except for Inui who just walked and muttered, "Ii data…"

One of the regulars noticed something different from the twins when he stared at them. _'Wait, one of them has some mixed feelings in their eyes…could it be…?'_

**::Day Three::**

Kaido Kaoru jogged in place as he waited for his jogging partner while the regulars hid in the bushes. "Eiji-senpai, your foot is on my stomach." Momo whined. "Shush, here he comes." Oishi said. They all peeked through the holes and anime-fell. In front of them were Ryoma and Rio, clad in the same clothing and smirk. "You think you can fool us, senpai-tachi!" The regulars sighed and walked out with Eiji and Momo holding their heads. "What happened to both of you?" Oishi asked. "When we anime-fell me and Momo hit our heads…"

"You guys really planned this eh, Echizen-futago?" Inui asked. Ryoma and Rio nodded. "As Rio said to Fuji-senpai when they walked together," Ryoma said. "Only our family members know." Rio said.

"Ah-ha! Rio's the one that spoke last!" Momo exclaimed as he pointed at the left twin. They looked at him with a smirk. "Do you have proof, Momo-senpai?" Momo twitched. "Oh fine, you win."

"Wait so if only your family knows…" Eiji said with a smile. The twins crossed their arms to make an X. "We warned them if you plan on doing what you're thinking, Kikumaru-senpai."

They all sighed as they walked away, not without saying bye and a see you tomorrow. The Echizen Twins looked at the setting sun and sighed. "Do you think that they'll get it right, Ryoma?" Rio asked her twin to the right. "If they have the determination to do it."

Unknown to them, a regular was hiding behind a tree. He smiled as he walked away. _'It seems that my guess were right. Rio does have sadder eyes than his brother, but why is it that I want to rush up to him and protect him from what makes him sad…?'_

**::Day Four::**

It was practice and Tezuka was assigning the regulars for some practice matches. "Echizen, play Momoshiro." The twins walked up. "I said Echizen."

"But who's who?"

"30 laps." Ryoma and Rio smirked as they started their laps. Inui stared at the two as his glasses glistened in the sun. "Not even Tezuka's laps worked…" Oishi said.

"Those two are persistent," Fuji said.

"What are you all mumbling about? Start the matches!"

"Hai!"

**::Day Five::**

Rio was helping Ryoma warm-up by helping him with his sit-ups. Eiji approached them with a huge smile on his face. "Nya, let's do some cartwheels, Rio-chan!" Since he knew that Rio knows acrobatics, he decided to differentiate them with the said movement.

When the two was finished with their sit-ups, they faced their upperclassman. "Gomen, that twin is flexible while the other isn't so we don't do acrobatics when we play this game." Ryoma said.

"Nya…"

**::Day Six::**

"Oi, Echizen-futago!" The twins turned around to face their senpai. "Let's go get some burgers, my treat!" The two narrowed their eyes. "Since when do you have money, Momo-senpai?" Momo sweatdropped. "Don't mind where I got the money, let's just get some burgers!"

In the end, Ryoma and Rio both got the same amount of food and ate in the same manner. _'These two are too insensitive!!! Just when Rio said I could call her Ririn-chan, they go and do this!'_ Momo thought and sighed. _'I guess they don't really treat me as their senpai…More like an older brother who always gets pushed around by his siblings…'_

**::Last Day::**

It was the last day and everyone kept on trying to figure out who's who. One specific regular didn't want to voice out that he knew who was who since he thinks that his proof is too personal to be voiced out loud.

Fuji contemplated on what to do since if he tried taking a photo, they'd find a way to outsmart him, but when he walked past them, they both gave off different scents. His smile grew wider as called everyone over to the twins.

"Did you find a way, Fuji-senpai?" Rio said. The tensai nodded and told the twins to stand a few meters away from each other. The regulars and the twins were interested in Fuji's idea.

When Fuji Syuusuke walked past the twin on the left, he smelled something like jasmine emitting from the twin. He smiled and turned to the twin on the right. Unlike his (or her depends on that twin is) twin, he smelled something like chamomile.

"Rio's the one on the left and Ryoma's the one on the right." Fuji finally said. Rio and Ryoma smirked. "Oh really, senpai? Why is that?" That made Fuji's smile grow. "The two of you use different bath scents. Ryoma uses chamomile bath scents while Rio uses jasmine scented bath scents."

The twin's eyes widened. "Damn you, Fuji-senpai…" The curious regulars walked up to the two and started sniffing them. "Wow, Fuji-senpai was right!" Momo exclaimed. Eiji jumped on the Echizen Twins. "You two smell good, nya."

The two got out of Eiji's grasp and dragged Fuji somewhere far away from everyone. When they were sure that no one's around, Rio sighed. "Since you got it right," she took off her hat and wig. She then started to fix her waist-length hair. Fuji then revealed his cerulean eyes. "A girl…" The twins nodded.

"Just don't tell anyone yet. You can talk to Kaido-senpai and Momo-senpai about this though." Fuji closed his eyes once again and smiled. "They know?" Rio nodded. "Momo-senpai found out the second day of school and Kaido-senpai found out when we were out jogging."

"When are you gonna tell everyone?" Rio gazed at the sky. "I guess when the time is right…"

---------------------

"I'll see you later, Ryoma!" Echizen Rio said clad in mid-thigh black shorts, knee-length white socks, Nike Dunk High Skinny Supreme Women's Shoe©, and a semi-fit green baby-tee. She had her hair into braided pigtails, courtesy of Meino Nanako.

"Hai, hai…" The twins went their separate ways, Rio to the street tennis courts; Ryoma to the train station to meet up with Ryuzaki Sakuno. The female twin had a small tennis bag with her racket and other things in it. She waved at Tachibana Ann, clad in her usual tennis wear. "You look cute, Rio-chan." The said girl gave her a small smile. "I'm not really girly but my cousin forced me to wear this and braided my hair." She then realized that they were not alone. Behind Ann were two of the seven regulars in Fudomine. "I'd like you to meet Ibu Shinji and Kamio Akira. Guys, this is—"

"Ootori Kaede, Rio is just a nickname for me." Ann frowned and pulled Rio away from them. "I'm dressed as a guy in Seigaku and they know who Echizen Rio is." Ann's eyes widened. "So you're a female regular?" Rio nodded. "So shh! Not even all the regulars know."

A doubles game between Ann-Rio and Kamio-Ibu pairs commenced. The girls knew that they were given a handicap so when Shinji lobbed it, Ann jumped for it. The opponents got ready for the upcoming smash. Ann swung her racket but missed! "Just kidding!" The ball went past her and towards a smirking Rio. She dragged her racket on the court and hit the ball near the top rim of her racket. Kamio and Shinji looked up and tried to figure out where the ball was. It was like it disappeared!

"Guys," they turned their attention to the smirking girls. "The ball's right behind you." Kamio turned around and gasped. The ball was just a few centimeters away from them! "Game; 3-2; Girls Lead." Rio said while smirking. "Never underestimate girls."

The girls continued to lead until it was match point, Advantage Girls – 40. Rio threw the ball in the air with her left hand. "Oi, oi, doesn't that look like that Seigaku ichinen regular's twist serve?" Kamio exclaimed. The girl chuckled and hit the ball. Shinji tried to return it but it twisted towards him. "Game, set, match."

"Where did you learn tennis like that?" Kamio asked. "Himitsu*, not even my brother could copy my moves, except for the twist serve." Rio picked up her things and got ready to go. "Thanks for the exercise; it's been a while since I played like that. We should do it again sometime." The crossdresser waved at the Fudomine students as they all went their separate ways. Before Rio could leave the courts, Atobe Keigo and his lackey, Kabaji Munehiro, appeared.

"If it isn't Ore-sama's little maple*," Rio glared at him. "Why are you here?" Atobe smirked "Ore-sama had a feeling you might be here, ne Kabaji?" Kabaji nodded. "Usu." The grey-haired boy walked up to her, grabbed her chin and wrapped his other hand around her petite waist. "You look beautiful." Rio continued to glare at him. "Let go me!!" His face was just a few centimeters away from her face. "Or what?"

"Let go of Kaede-chan!" They turned their heads to Kikumaru Eiji. Rio blushed since she didn't think she would meet any Seigaku regulars and that Eiji looked handsome. "Oh, what are you going to do?" Atobe said while smirking. Before Eiji could lunged at the pompous captain, Rio slapped Atobe. Atobe grunted and let go of her, making her run into Eiji's arms. Atobe glared at both of them while holding his red cheek. "Let's go, Kabaji."

"Usu." Kabaji said as he followed Atobe out of the courts. "Are you ok?" Rio then realized what she had done and blushed. She got out of Eiji's arms and bowed. "Thank you, um…?" Eiji smiled. "Kikumaru Eiji, nya." Rio stood up straight and smiled at him. "Thank you, Kikumaru-san." She turned to get her things and was about to say goodbye to Eiji stopped her. "Do you want to get a snack with me?" Rio looked confused, making Eiji blush. "Um, uh, Atobe might come back and scare you again so I thought that I should hang around with you until I know he won't come back."

Rio smiled and nodded. Eiji yelled hooray, grabbed her hand and started leading her to a café. The crossdresser blush when Eiji held her hand. _'Ugh, I feel like a mean person! Maybe I shouldn't have crossdressed… but did it because I wanted to hide…'_

"Kaede-chan?" She looked up and blushed when she saw Eiji's face near hers. "Are you ok?" Rio nodded. They arrived at a café and sat on a table near the window. A waiter arrived and started to weirdly smile at Rio. "Hello, what can I get for you?" He asked them, to be specific, he basically asked Rio. "Strawberry cake and green tea, please!" Eiji said. The waiter faced him and almost glared at him. "Yes, how 'bout you, miss?" The waiter stared at Rio with a weird smile. That annoyed Eiji. "I'll just get a mud cake and jasmine tea," Rio noted and smiled at the waiter. He blushed and started stuttering. "S-sure, m-miss…" And with all the ordering done, the flustered waiter left to give the orders to the kitchen. Rio wondered about the waiter's behavior while Eiji smiled when he finally left.

"That was a weird waiter," Rio said to Eiji. "Yea, he is weird." They started talking about random things, from hobbies to likes. "You like the Chocolates too???" Eiji said with glistening eyes. Rio nodded. "I think their music is interesting." The same waiter from before came up and gave their orders. He then turned to Rio and smirked. "Why don't you ditch this guy and come with me?" Rio completely ignored him as she poured hot tea in her cup. Eiji stood up and was about to punch the waiter when Rio said, "Sorry, I'm with my boyfriend." The waiter and Eiji's eyes widened. The waiter left feeling disappointed while Eiji sat down with a blush. "Gomen, Kikumaru-san, it was the only way for him to leave us alone."

They ate in awkward silence. _'Stupid Rio! I could've just let Kikumaru-senpai beat the hell out of that guy! But, I didn't want him to get hurt…UGH!'_

Eiji looked up and saw Rio with a cute pout on her face. _'Wait, cute?'_ He then studied her features carefully. _'Taka-san was right; she does look a bit like Ochibi but she also looks like that person…'_

"You know, you remind me of an old friend of mine." Rio's thoughts were interrupted when Eiji spoke. "Really? Who?" Eiji blushed. "I don't know her name since we just called each other pet names but she was my childhood sweetheart. I remembered how she would smile, I would always blush." For some reason, Rio was feeling jealous. _'Wha—?'_

"Anyway, I don't even know if she'll remember me since she was only 4 or 5, I can't remember but we were both young and memories sometimes fade." Eiji said as he looked out of the window and to the blue sky.

As the crossdressing freshman and her acrobatic senior chatted, across the street was the burger shop where Momoshiro Takeshi, Horio Satoshi, Mizuno Katsuo, and Kato Kachiro were having a snack. "Thanks for the food, Momochan-senpai!" The freshmen trio said. "Don't worry about it."

Kachiro looked out and saw something interesting. "Hey, isn't that Kikumaru-senpai?" Momo turned his head and his eyes widened. "No way, Eiji-senpai and Ririn-chan?!" The freshmen looked confused. "Who's Ririn-chan, Momochan-senpai?" Horio asked. Momo nervously smiled. "Someone I met in the street courts." He then smirked. _'Hehehe, I got good blackmail! Can't wait to tell Fuji-senpai!'_ The four of them then saw Echizen Ryoma walking with Ryuzaki Sakuno. "Even better! Let's go follow them." Momo said as he ran out. The trio sweatdropped. "He has nothing better to do…"

------

"Thank you for the treat, Kikumaru-san," Rio said while bowing. "Don't worry about it. I had nothing better to do. I was just wandering around when I heard your voice." Eiji said with a blush. "Still, thank you, for the guarding also! Atobe didn't come again." Eiji smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

"I'll see you later Kikumaru-san." Rio said. "Call me Eiji, nya!" The girl smiled. "Hai, Eiji-san." She waved goodbye and walked away. When she was far away from her senior, she frowned. "Ugh, this is so not cool!!" She saw something pink pass her. She turned around to see Sakuno running while crying. "Nee-san," again, she turned around and saw her 10-minute younger brother. "Did you make her cry?" Ryoma shrugged. "I just said that she talked more than usual. She ran away and Momo-senpai appeared. He said I should chase her, senpai's orders." Rio sighed. "Sometimes I think you could be a little dumb, but you're a tennis freak, you have no life other than tennis." She pushed him to the direction of the running girl. "Go; apologize even if you don't know what you did." Ryoma nodded and started running.

Rio heard some cat meowing. She walked towards the sound. She smiled when she saw two cats playing. _'For some reason, they remind me of Kikumaru-senpai…'_ Her eyes widened and shook her head. "Ugh, I think all the guilt's piling on me." She muttered to herself as she started walking home. With her head filled with guilt, one of them was the heaviest.

'_Gomenasai, Kikumaru-senpai…'

* * *

*****_**Echizen-futago**** - Echizen Twins**

***senpai-tachi - It's kinda like "senpais" if you like to type it that way but, hey, I'm addicted to Japan and it's culture ^^**

***Itadakimasu - Time to eat or in a textbook I got from my teacher, "I (humbly) receive (this delicious food)." That's what it says in the book!**

***Gochisousama - Thanks for the food**

***Himitsu - Secret**

***If it isn't Ore-sama's little maple - The name Rio chose, Kaede, means maple so it's pretty self-explanatory.**

**

* * *

**

_**WOOHOO!!!!! I updated before July 18!! Yes!! Now, one thing's for sure, I'm gonna put more Japanese in them. Why? 'Cause I think it feels more natural since they ARE Japanese and such. Plus whenever I do a rough draft on my notebook, I can't help but put Japanese in it...**_

_**Anyway, I only have a few more days before my term break ends so basically, this chapter is dedicated to my "Sad it's back to school" attitude. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: Gah, how many times do I have to say this...?**_


	6. Flashbacks, a Dinner and the Match I

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 6 – Flashbacks, a Dinner and the Match I**

_**Rio's POV**_

I grumbled as I heard the alarm clock went off and kicked Ryoma awake. In return, he slapped me on the arm and soon a fight against feet and hands commenced. We both stopped when Kurorin and Karupin scratched us. "Itai!" I yelled and fell off the bed. I rubbed my bum and glared at the innocent-looking cats. "…You guys are lucky that you're adorable." I stood up and looked at the clock. "Oi, Oma-chan, we're gonna be late for morning practice." I heard him grumble and sat up. We got ready and went to school with toast in our mouths.

"Oi, Echizen-futago!" We turned and saw Momo-senpai with a bouncing Kikumaru-senpai behind him. Before they could catch up to us, I turned around with a blush and started power-walking to the clubroom. As soon as I got into the clubroom, I saw Fuji-senpai with a sadistic smile on his face. I turned around and met face-to-chest with Momo-senpai. I backed away until I could feel the wall behind me. "I saw you with Eiji-senpai yesterday," I blushed and looked away. "So what about it?" I saw Fuji-senpai with his camera in hand. "I just happened to pass by the café and took pictures when I realized you guys were there." I blushed big-time and lowered my cap. "Urusai(1), senpai-tachi…" They both laughed and gave each other a high five.

"This is fun!" Momo-senpai exclaimed as I was gonna enter the bathroom. "Who knew that Rio being a girl would be so much fun?" We heard a gasp and something fall. We turned around to see Oishi Shuichiro with wide eyes. "Oishi-senpai…" I gasped. "Rio's a girl?!" He exclaimed. "Momo-senpai, door; Fuji-senpai, windows," I ordered as I took off my cap and wig. When everything was blocked, I nervously laughed as Oishi-senpai kept on staring at me. "Well, you found out the big secret…" He fixed his composure and cleared his throat. "Why did you hide your gender?" I sighed. "I have two reasons:

"1 – I wanted to have fun by deceiving you but soon will tell you guys;

"2 – I wanted to hide from…someone…or people, I guess." I could see Fuji-senpai's and Momo-senpai's widened eyes when they heard the second reason. Oishi-senpai kept on staring at me until I started to fidget. He shook his head and smiled. "If you're wondering if I'm gonna ask more, relax; I won't. I'm not like SOME people," he said pertaining to Inui-senpai, Momo-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai (sometimes when he's in the mood), and Fuji-senpai. Before I could thank him, I saw shadows behind him and ran into the bathroom.

"Nya, was that Rio just then?" My eyes widened. "Yea, he's just getting changed, you know how shy he is, senpai." I sighed when Momo-senpai covered for me. I then heard other voices meaning it's almost time for morning practice. I changed into the school-colored shirt and jersey and fixed my wig and cap. When I opened the door, I blushed and lowered my cap until I could only see the floor. As I power-walked myself out I heard Momo-senpai and Fuji-senpai giggling until Oishi-senpai shushed them. I sighed as soon I saw the bright light of the morning sun. I started to walk towards the courts when my otoutou(2) stopped me. "He knows?" I followed his eyes to Oishi-senpai and nodded. "He walked in when Momo-senpai yelled the word." I saw him sigh. "Everyone will know soon. Why don't you just tell them?" I looked away from him. "…I don't trust them yet. You know my trust issues." Ryoma sighed again and turned around. "But at least cry once in a while… I could see you trying not to cry when we're sleeping… "

I was shocked when I heard those words come out of his mouth. I sloppily walked towards him and hugged him from behind. I already had a few tears run down my cheeks. I felt him turning around but I hugged him tighter, not letting do as he pleases. "Just a few more seconds, please…" But the moment was ruined when Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai glomped us. "That was so CUTE‼" Kikumaru-senpai exclaimed. "Brotherly love‼" I wiped my tears on Ryoma's jersey and glared at them. I saw them getting ready for the verbal attack but I just turned around and continued my way to the courts.

_**Normal POV**_

Rio sat through her classes like a zombie but during English, she cracked. She clutched her head and groaned. Ryoma stood up and rushed to his sister. "Nii-san, nii-san!" The teacher walked up to them and gave them a pass. "Bring him to the nurse's office. Make sure he gets some rest." Ryoma put her arm around him as he helped her walk to the nurse's office.

When they arrived, the nurse led them to a bed. "I'll tell you when your brother wakes up, ok Echizen-kun?" Ryoma nodded and looked at his sister. _'Rio…please, just move on…'_ He walked out with worried eyes.

Rio was tossing and turning, looking like she was having a nightmare.

_-Dream-_

_An 11-year-old Rio smiled at her friends as they sat under some trees. "Hey, guess what?" She said. They leaned in, wanting to listen to the latest gossip. "Well, you know how I like CJ right?" Her friends nodded. "Well, I was planning to on telling him during our school field trip!" They all smiled and started screaming. "OMG! Finally, we thought you weren't gonna ask him out!" Rio blushed. "I wasn't going to but I'm going to follow my heart and tell him!" She smiled as they continued to chat about the latest gossip. _'I'm so lucky to have friends like them…'_ Rio thought as she started talking about the girl in her class with ugly fashion._

_----_

_Her friends urged her to walk up to the wandering boy. "Come on!" They whispered to her as they pushed her towards him, a little too hard if you ask me. She bumped into the boy and landed on top of him. Rio blushed as they stared at each other's eyes. She got off him and helped him up. "I'm so sorry, CJ! I didn't watch where I was going." CJ looked at her like she was just an ant. "At least you didn't dirty my shoes, they cost a lot!" Rio blushed. It was quiet for a few minutes, letting the sound of the aquarium surround them. _

"_Um… CJ?" The said boy turned around with an annoyed look on his face. "Yea, what?" Rio continued to blush and clutched the hem of her skirt. "I like you, would you go out with me?!" CJ's eyes widened and a few seconds later, he started laughing. "No way," he said while laughing. "Hey guys‼ Look at tiny Rio confessing her undying love for me‼" Rio's classmates surrounded them with mocking smiles on their faces. _

"_Aww… does Rio need a hug?" _

"_Hey, maybe if you grew a bit taller, I would've gone out with you, Shortie!"_

"_She didn't realize she was being played eh?"_

_Tears started to form and soon she was running away from the group. Unbeknownst to her, her so-called friends smirked at her retreating figure. "Serves her right for actually liking __**the**__ CJ." _

"_Kids come on, hop on the bus!" The students went on the bus, not caring about Rio's whereabouts. "Wait, where's Rio?" The teacher asked. "Oh teach, didn't you know? She didn't come today." One of the girls said as the girls behind her started giggling. "Are you sure? But I have her on the list." _

"_We're sure teach, come on! Next stop: DISNEYLAND!!"_

_The bus drove off, leaving the crying Rio inside the Aquarium's bathroom._

_-End of Dream-_

The final bell rang, waking Rio in the process. She clutched her head as tears continued to flow out of her eyes. _'Dammit, it's been a while since I had this dream. At least it wasn't 5 in a row…'_ She felt like screaming but in order for her not to scream, she bit her tongue. She soon tasted the metallic taste of blood.

"Echizen-san, are you…" The nurse walked in with wide eyes. She ran by her side and started to ask questions about her well-being. "I'm ok, ma'am," Rio said. "No, it's better for you to go home. I'll ask you brother—"

"NO!" The nurse looked at her with skeptical eyes. Rio sweatdropped. "Uh, I mean, I'll walk home, it's just a few minutes away from here." _'Lie,'_ Rio thought. _'It's like 15 to 20-minute walk!'_ The nurse continued to skeptically look at her. "No, I'll call someone from the tennis club and have you escorted home. I'll be right back." The nurse left with Rio scrambling to fix herself. She looked out the room and checked if anyone was in the hallway. When the coast was clear, she ran out and to the school gates. Rio ran until her legs gave out on her. She started leaning on a wall next to her and started crying. She sat down and hugged her knees. "I feel so weak…" Rio's gold eyes started drooping and soon, she fell asleep next to the road.

--------

"Guys, have you found him?!" Ryoma yelled as he approached Momo, Fuji and Kawamura. Let me explain:

_Flashback – Few Minutes Ago_

"_Ryuzaki-sensei, is it ok for some of your students to help Echizen Rio walk home?" The nurse asked the red-haired sensei. "Why? Is he ok?" The nurse shook her head. "I wanted his brother to walk him home but he said that he'll walk home by himself. I would've agreed if not for his mental and physical problems." Ryuzaki nodded and called Kawamura and Oishi over. "You guys feel like walking to the Echizen house?" She explained the situation and immediately they agreed. _

_When they arrived at the nurse's office, the nurse gasped as she tried to find her missing patient. "He's not here!" Oishi's and Kawamura's eyes widened. "We better tell Ryuzaki-sensei and ask to help look for him." Oishi said as he started running back to the courts with Kawamura trailing him._

_End of Flashback_

Fuji was on the phone with Inui. "No we haven't," Momo said as Fuji snapped his phone shut. "Inui said that Oishi found him asleep next to the road." Ryoma's eyes widened. "Where?" Fuji turned around and started running, signaling everyone to follow him.

'_Why do only bad things happen to Rio and me?' _Ryoma thought as he followed his upperclassmen. _'Is it because we're twins(3)? Just now, Tezuka-buchou wanted a match with me. That's a good thing for me but I feel all nervous…like something bad is gonna happen during the match…' _Fuji opened his eyes when he saw that everyone was crowded around the sick Rio. Ryoma ran faster and slid next to his sister. "Rio! Rio! Wake up!" Oishi was trying to calm down Eiji, who was in hysterics for reasons unknown. "I'm gonna call the ambulance," said Inui while flipping his phone open. "No…" Everyone's heads turned to barely awake Rio. She was trying to sit up but failed and fell back on the ground. "Rio, don't push yourself," Kaido said, supporting her. Inui looked at her for more information. "I…I hate hospitals. Please, just help me to get home." Everyone saw her tear-streaked face and her pleading eyes and decided that it's best if she were to be brought home. Tezuka called their coach informing her that they found their missing team member and soon, they all started walking to the Echizen house with Rio on Kawamura's back. "Minna, arigatou(4)…" Rio whispered as she lost consciousness.

---------------------

The next day, Rio woke up with a killer headache. She tried to look for her brother who was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes went to the door when she heard something drop. "Rio, you're awake!" Rinko said as she rushed to her daughter's side. "Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" She asked as many questions she could think of about her well-being. "I'm fine, okaa-san, don't worry." Rio said as she smiled at her mom. Rinko sighed as she returned the smile. "What happened, Rio?" The said person looked at her mom with a small smile. "Emotional breakdown, I think." She chuckled. "I think I'm going emo, mom." Rinko sighed once again. "You're an idiot for making jokes when you're mentally hurt." She stood up and picked up the dropped item which was Ryoma's clothes.

"Honey, I want you to try and forget about the past, ok?" Rinko said as she left her daughter in silence. Rio looked at the clock beside her. Her eyes bulged out when she saw that it was already 12pm. She sighed and tried to stretch her body. The female twin winced as her body was sore and decided that she'll stay in bed and continue to sleep.

It wasn't long when people interrupted her beauty sleep. Rio peeked and regretted it. In front of her were the regulars minus Tezuka, Oishi and Kaido. "Ne, Ochibi, do you think he's ok?" Eiji asked the male twin. "I think he's ok, he just needs sleep I guess." They all continued to chat amongst themselves, not letting sleeping beauty have her beauty sleep. Rio opened her eyes and suddenly sat up, only to flop back to the bed from the sudden rush. "Ugh…my head…" The chatter stopped and soon all she could see were everyone's faces. "Are you ok, Nii-san?" Rio turned to face her little brother. "Yea, I'm good, just sore from the rush. Don't worry; I'll be up in no time!" Rio sat up with the help of Fuji and smiled at everyone. "Sorry for making you all worry," she said as she bowed. "It's fine!" Eiji said. "We're friends and we watch each other's backs." Everyone agreed and soon, everyone kept her busy by chatting with her about random things.

"Hey, Rio," She turned to face Fuji but was thrown something. "What's this?" Rio said as she looked at the blue covered gift with a white bow on it. Fuji smirked. "Open it when we're gone k?" Everyone protested; they wanted to see what was in the gift. Fuji turned around and opened his eyes. His cerulean eyes scared them, along with his sadistic smile. Everyone stopped what they were doing and started talking about the weather today. The Echizen twins sweatdropped. _'Fuji-senpai is a sadist…' _

It was already 6pm so everyone left with smiles and get-well-soons. When Momo finally left, Ryoma stayed to keep his sister company. Rio sensed that there was something wrong with her brother. "Ryoma, what's up?" She saw him clutch something tighter. She gasped as a tennis ball was thrown to her. "Wha…?" Ryoma frowned at her. "Tezuka-buchou wants a match in 2 days. I know I should be happy but for some reason, I feel all nervous." Rio tossed the tennis ball up and down, trying to come up a solution for her brother's feelings. "I…I can't think of anything, Ryoma. Sorry," Rio said as she passed the ball back to her brother. "It's ok but…can you come with me to the match? Just hide yourself from view." _'He's so dependant. Ryoma always wants help from me. He has to try and solve his problems on his own, even though we're sharing the burden of the problem.' _

"I…I'll try…" Rio hesitantly said with a small smile. Karupin and Kurorin walked up to her with worried faces. They both snuggled up next to her, trying to comfort her. She smiled and caressed their fur. Ryoma gave a small smile and helped her with the cats. Rio's eyes wandered around until they landed on the gift Fuji gave her. She picked it up and opened it, giggling when she put the bow on Kurorin. The Himalayan meowed when she saw her person's smile. Rio patted her head and continued opening her gift. Her eyes widened when she what's inside. _'I'm gonna kill you, Fuji-senpai…'_

Inside were two small picture frames. One of them was a picture of Rio, with her hair down, and Eiji in the café laughing about some joke and the other picture was of her hugging Ryoma from behind. "These were special moments…not blackmail material…" Rio groaned. Ryoma smirked. "Mada Mada Dane, nee-san," Rio glared at him. "Shut up, Oma-chan," Ryoma sweatdropped. _'Nice comeback…'_

------------

"Ohayou, Rio-kun!"

"Welcome back, Rio-kun!"

"Hope you feel better."

As soon as Rio stepped in Seigaku, many students, from freshmen to seniors, greeted him. Her jaw hurt from smiling too much. When she opened her locker, she was buried under a pile of get-well cards and other things. The girls next to her started to squeal. "He's back~!" She heard chuckling and saw Momo helping her up. "Looks like you became popular just because you went missing two days ago." Rio fixed her cap and started to pick up all the gifts and cards on the floor. Momo started to help her with confusion on his face. "Why are you picking them all up?" He asked as he picked up a gift. "I don't like how people just ignore their fans. Even though they're annoying, it feels good to know that they at least know you not by your bad deeds but by your accomplishments and your looks; but the looks part would be annoying if they just like you for that." Momo started laughing. "You're one interesting fellow, you know that?"

'_But I used to ignore things like these until the CJ incident happened. He ignored my letters too, that's why I decided to have a heart and read all the fan mail and accept all their gifts.'_

During club activities, Ryoma was anxious. He kept on losing focus and Tezuka and Oishi could sense it. Rio hit a drive twist, shaking her brother from his thoughts. She shook her head and jumped over the net to her brother. "Look, I know you're anxious and nervous but GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!!!!" She screamed while hitting her brother on the head. "Itai!" Ryoma exclaimed while clutching his hurt head. His sister frowned and sighed. "Ahh, I forfeit, he's not fun when he's not focused." She said as she lazily walked out the courts.

While Rio was riding on Eiji's shoulders, she saw her brother glance at Tezuka who was walking past him. She sighed and put her chin on Eiji's head. "You ok, Rio-chan?" Eiji asked looking at her. "I'm fine, don't worry." She smiled to calm Eiji down or else chaos will occur. Eiji carried her to his and Oishi's favorite spot: the green box at the park. "Oishi and me go way back," he said when he helped her up. "We met near here and became doubles partners here." Eiji smiled and stood up. "Whenever the Golden Pair loses a match, we always come here to be reminded why we became doubles partners and our goal before we graduate." Rio smiled and watched the setting sun with far eyes. _'I feel all guilty for lying to Kikumaru-senpai…'_ She looked at him and saw that he had a smile that reached his childish eyes. She started giggling. "What's wrong, Rio-chan?" Eiji said as he kneeled next to the giggling twin. "Nothing, senpai, it's just that Kikumaru-senpai had a cute smile," she said. Eiji's eyes widened.

_Flashback – 7 years ago_

"_Midori(5)-chan, come on! We're gonna miss the sunset!" A 7-year-old Eiji yelled as a 5-year-old girl caught up to him. "Mou," she panted, "Ei-chan is too fast…" Eiji grinned and bent down low so that his back is leveled with the girl. "Ride on my back so we can watch the sunset!" The girl blushed and hopped on Eiji's back. He then ran while carrying her on his back. "This is good exercise!" He exclaimed as Midori smiled at him. _

_When they arrived at the cliff where they always watch the sunset, they were just in time for the main event. Eiji let Midori jumped off his back and watch the sunset next to him. She smiled and held her friend's hand like she's been doing ever since they started watching the sunset together. Eiji smiled at her, making her blush and giggle. "What's so funny, Midori-chan?" _

"_Nothing, it's just that Ei-chan always has a cute smile on his face!"_

_End of Flashback_

'_What the-? Why am I having flashbacks now?'_ Eiji stared at the now-calm Rio. Suddenly, an image of Ootori Kaede invaded his mind. He shook his head and Rio's figure came into the picture. He sighed and sat next to her. "What's wrong, Kikumaru-senpai?" Rio asked. "Oh, nothing, don't worry about it." He smiled, making Rio's worries disappear. A few minutes later, Rio's stomach growled along with Eiji's. They both blushed and started laughing. "Why don't we eat at my house? We're having sukiyaki for dinner tonight!" Eiji exclaimed as he jumped down from the box. Rio was about to jump down when he slipped and started falling head first. She braced for the impact but nothing came except for some loud groaning. She blushed when she realized that she fell on Eiji and quickly got off of him. "Are you ok, senpai?" She asked as Eiji sat up with his hand on his head. "Yea, I'm fine. I didn't realize you were that heavy, Rio-chan!" Rio blushed and glared at him. "I'm not that heavy! Maybe you're just tired from practice." Eiji grinned and chuckled. "I'm kidding, Rio-chan but do you want to have dinner at my house? I'll walk you home after dinner or have my brother or sister drive you home." Rio's eyes widened. "Just how many people are at your house?" She asked as they started walking to the Kikumaru house. "Um…my mom and dad, my grandma and grandpa, two older sisters, two older brothers, and me!" The female twin was shocked and silent as they walked.

Eiji started to fidget but calmed down when he saw the familiar door. He got his house keys and yelled, "Tadaima(6)!" A lady with brown hair and blue eyes walked up and smiled at him. "Okaerinasai(7), Eiji-chan." She then smiled at Rio. "Konbawa, anata dare desuka(8)?" Rio smiled and bowed. "Hajimemashite, Echizen Rio desu(9)." Eiji's mom smiled. "Ah! KAWAII!!!" She was about to glomp Rio when Eiji stepped in front of her view. "Ofukuro! You're gonna scare Rio." His mom sighed and bowed. "Gomen, watashi wa Kikumaru Mariko(10). You can call me oba-chan(11)!" Eiji blushed. "Ofukuro(12)!" Mariko waved his son off. "Gomen, I hope Eiji hasn't been a hassle to you or the club members." Rio shook her head. "Iie, don't worry, Kikumaru-senpai has been very active and nice to all of us." Eiji's mom smiled and led them all inside. "You're just in time for dinner, we have sukiyaki tonight!" Eiji smiled and dashed towards his seat. "Oi, oi, otoutou!" Rio looked behind her and saw 2 girls. "You have to take a shower first, you smell gross!" Eiji pouted. "Mou, it's dinner time and I have a guest." His sisters glared at him and was about to yell at him when 2 boys entered the room. "Aw just leave him be. It's not every day that Eiji brings friends from school." They both sat down and was about to eat when a man came in the room. "Oi, Kosuke, Yamato, you're being disrespectful." He turned to the girls and gave them a stern look. "And you girls, manners, this is Eiji's friend. We don't want him to think we're always like this." Eiji sweatdropped. "We ARE always like this…" He whispered to Rio's ear making her giggle.

When everyone was seated, they said their prayers and started eating. It was funny to see Eiji and his brothers fight for the last meat. She laughed when their father took the meat and ate it. "Oyaji!" The brothers whined. Their sisters giggled and smiled at Rio. "Don't worry, it's always like this whenever we have sukiyaki. By the way, I'm Haruko. I'm the oldest out of my siblings." Rio smiled. "And that's Sumie, she's four years older than Eiji." They smiled at her and gave her more of the food that was on the table. "Kosuke's two years older than Eiji and Yamato is six years older than Eiji. And I'm eight years older than my brother."

"Wow, such a big family…" Rio said as she looked around. "It must be very lively here." Haruko nodded. "There's always a ruckus here but it'll feel lonely when everyone's quiet." Rio smiled as she continued eating her food. When dinner was finished, Rio tried to take the dishes when Haruko and Sumie snatched them away from her. "No, no, you're a guest and possibly our future brother-in-law." Rio blushed. "Um, huh?" Sumie smirked. "You should see how Eiji looks at you. Ah, romantic!" The cross dresser blushed deeper. "Iie, Kikumaru-senpai doesn't like me like that…" Eiji suddenly appeared and dragged her away from his sisters.

"What did they say to you?" He asked when Rio flopped down on his bed. "Nothing, just asking if the food tasted ok." She looked around and was thinking about something. "Hey, where are you grandparents?" Eiji smiled at her. "It's their wedding anniversary and we got them a week-trip to Okinawa, the place where they got married." Rio smiled. "That's pretty nice of you guys. How long have they've been together?" The acrobatic was thinking with a pout on his face. The girl couldn't stop staring at him. She turned around when Eiji started to talk. "They've been together for 50 years now." Her eyes widened. "Wow!!! That's so cool!!!" Eiji nodded.

The two continued to talk until Rio fell asleep on Eiji's bed. Eiji smiled and called Oishi. "Ne, Oishi, do you know Ochibi's house number?" The fukubuchou gave him the number and hung up. Eiji then called the Echizen house. "Moshi moshi?" Eiji asked for Ryoma. He waited for a while and smiled when he heard the freshman regular. "Ne, this is Eiji. Your brother's staying at my house for the night is that ok?" On the other side of the line, Ryoma's eyes widened. "Why Kikumaru-senpai?" He heard chuckling. "Your brother fell asleep on my bed. Don't worry, just bring him a set of clothes tomorrow. Ja, mata ashita!" Eiji hung up, leaving Ryoma is a state of shock. He snapped out of it his dad flicked him on the forehead. "So, who was that?" Ryoma glared at him. "None of your business, oyaji." He walked to his mom and whispered what happened. "Oh no, that's not good…" Rinko said. "What if he finds out?" Ryoma groaned. "Stupid Rio…"

The next day, Rio didn't want to wake up. She felt safe, wherever she was. She clutched something tighter until she heard a flash going off. "Shh! I told you to turn off the flash!" Someone angrily whispered. "Well sorry!" Rio slowly opened her eyes only to see something unexpected.

* * *

_**WHEW!!! *wipes sweat off forehead* Ew...**_

_**Anyway, I finally updated!!! After 2 months of waiting, I have arrived once again!!!! ^^ Sorry, I kinda lost track at what to write...Anyway, Rio's dream or should I say dreamS (coming soon) will soon be explained.  
**_

_**Oh, translations!!!!**_

_**1: Urusai - shut up. (most should know this...)  
2: otoutou - younger brother  
3:**_**_ 'Why do only bad things happen to Rio and me?' _Ryoma thought as he followed his upperclassmen. _'Is it because we're twins(3)?- Well, there was an ancient superstition that twins were a bad omen. *shrugs* That's what I heard.  
4: Minna, arigatou - thank you, everyone. (again, most should know this.)  
5: Midori - in japan, green and in australia, it's an energy drink.....XD hahaha.  
6: Tadaima - I'm home! / I'm back!  
7: Okaerinasai - Welcome back.  
8: Konbawa, anata dare desuka? - good evening, who are you?  
9: Hajimemashite, Echizen Rio desu. - Nice to meet you, my name's Echizen Rio.  
10: Gomen, watashi was Kikumaru Mariko. - Sorry, my name's Kikumaru Mariko (I have no idea what Eiji's mom's name or any of his family members....)  
11: oba-chan - aunty  
12: Ofukuro - mom _**

**_Well, I guess that's all of it. Seriously, some of them people should already know... Review please! ^^  
_**


	7. Flashbacks, a Dinner and the Match II

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 7 - ****Flashbacks, a Dinner and the Match II**

_**Rio's POV**_

Oh my god… Please say that I'm dreaming.

My waist felt heavy and my legs felt like they were tied together. I saw something white and heard some heartbeats. I blushed when I realized that it was Kikumaru-senpai's chest!! I tried to get out but his arm around my waist wouldn't budge. What's worse was that he was half-naked!!!! My face felt hot and I felt like fainting when I heard snickers. I slightly turned my head to see Haruko-san and Sumie-san!!! "Get me out of here!" I whispered to them. They shook their heads and smirked. "Don't worry, he'll wake up soon." They again started to take photos. "Okaa-san and otou-san are gonna be happy when they see this." Haruko said. "Eiji's finally a man!" Sumie said. I heard groaning and pretended to sleep again. A few seconds later, I heard 3 screams, one from each sibling. "What are you doing in my room?!?!" Kikumaru-senpai said as he sat up, making my head fall on the pillow, meaning my head was on his chest. "Well, um, we needed to talk to Rio but it seems like he's still asleep, so um, bye!" The sisters ran out but not without giggling at Kikumaru-senpai.

"Sheesh," I heard him say. I felt him get out of bed and shuffle around the room. "Gah, I should really put a lock on my door." I decided to wake up when he bumped into something hard. I pretended to yawn to alert him that I was awake. "Oh, Rio, you're awake." He smiled at me, making me blush. He still hasn't put on a shirt. I could see some faint abs on him. "Let's go down and eat breakfast. We might be late for school." When I looked at the clock, my eyes bulged out. "Um, senpai… we are already late for school. We missed the first half." He turned his head and gasped. "You're right!! Oh no, what are we gonna do?!!" The door opened to see Kikumaru-senpai's mom. "Oh don't worry, I called the school that you're sick and I also called Rio-kun's house to make the same excuse." Kikumaru-senpai pouted. "But… we're gonna be dead!!! We missed tennis practice!!" I stiffened. He's right, if Tezuka-buchou found out that we overslept, we're doomed. And I'm already dead by Ryoma and okaa-san!!! "Why don't the two of you take the day off?" Kikumaru-senpai and I turned our heads towards her. "Are you crazy, ofukuro?! We're gonna be dead when they find out we've skipped school!" I vigorously nodded. She smiled and was about to close the door when she said, "Then it's either clean the house or go on a date. Bai bai!" I blushed when she said 'date' and looked at my senpai. I saw him rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess we'll go on that 'date.'" He sighed. "But I guess we'll go to your house so you could change clothes." I looked down and saw that I was still in my school uniform. Talk about gross. I got off the bed and told him that I was gonna go to the bathroom.

When I got to the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face. _'Get that image out of my head!!!'_ Kikumaru-senpai's naked chest kept on replaying in my mind. I wiped my face and stepped outside to see a pair of smirking sisters. "We heard that the two of you are going on a date." I blushed and tried to walk around them when they made me go back to the bathroom and locked it with the three of us in. "Look, Rio-chan, we know you're a girl, even our parents and our brothers, except for Eiji, know." Sumie-san said as she removed my wig. "We knew from the beginning but we didn't have proof so when we went in Eiji's room, we saw a lock of your long hair out of your wig." I cursed myself. I thought I put enough pins!! They both gave me the Cheshire grin and tackled me. "What are you doing?!" I yelled as they carried me to a room. "We're gonna make Eiji realize that you're a girl and that he does have feelings for you." Before Haruko-san could take off any of my clothes, I pushed away from them. "But I do have a reason for hiding my gender!" They both raised an eyebrow at me. "It's hard to explain and I feel uncomfortable when I explain it." I heard them sigh and push me out the room. "If only you were an uke then Eiji would finally have a girlfriend…" Sumie-san said.

I tilted my head, showing her that I was confused. "Ah, don't worry about that an uke means. I've been watching too much Naruto." I shrugged and stood up. "Please don't tell Kikumaru-senpai. He's a really nice guy and I don't want to hurt him."

"But you're already hurting him." My eyes widened and looked at them. "What I mean was that keeping the secret is already hurting him and once he finds out, which is inevitable, he'll hurt more." Haruko-san said.

Before I could answer my senpai's sisters, the angel himself –wait, that's not right– Kikumaru-senpai walked up to us, making his sisters block me from his sight. "Quick, put your wig on!" Sumie-san whispered. I didn't need to be told twice and did what I was told to do. "What are you guys doing?" Kikumaru-senpai asked us. "Well, um, Rio was topless and she, uh I mean he didn't want anyone to see the huge scar on her, I mean his back." I blushed. _'But it's true that I have a huge scar on my back…'_ I looked up and saw Kikumaru-senpai looking confused but shrugged it off. "Well, we need to go. I promised ofukuro I'd go out on a 'date' with him." I blushed harder, making Sumie-san giggle. "Shut up," I angrily whispered.

As soon as I finished 'changing', I pushed the Kikumaru sisters aside and smiled at my senpai. "Let's go!" Kikumaru-senpai grabbed my hand, making me blush, and dragged me out of his house and to the direction of my house. When we arrived at my house, I had to kick oyaji on the shin to make him close his mouth. "Shut up if you don't want your precious magazines to be disintegrated." I angrily whispered to him. He did shut up and moved aside. I smiled victoriously and told Kikumaru-senpai to wait at the living room. I went upstairs to the bathroom and took a really fast shower and changed into some of Ryoma's clothes since most of my clothes consist of girl clothes. I took Ryoma's red checkered polo and left it open to show the white shirt under it. I also wore his cargo pants but I had to put a belt on; seriously, why did my brother even buy this? It's too baggy! I sighed and went downstairs only to see that Kikumaru-senpai was nowhere to be found! I then heard meows and followed to noise. I smiled to see my senpai playing with the cats. Kurorin saw me and ran to me. I kneeled and let her snuggle in my arms. "You sure are close with your pets." I chuckled. "The white one is Ryoma's; his name is Karupin. The one in my arms is Kurorin." He smiled and petted Karupin, making him purr. I looked at the clock and stood up, letting Kurorin jump from my arms. "Come on, senpai. I didn't change just for us to play with the cats." He nodded and put Karupin next to Kurorin. We left as soon as we can so that oyaji won't pester us.

I put my hands behind my head and sighed. "Where are we gonna go?" Kikumaru-senpai put his hand on his chin and made a thinking face. After a few seconds, he put his finger up in the air. "I got it!" He grabbed my hand and dragged me somewhere. "Senpai, slow down!" And he did, when we arrived at the place he picked. My eyes widened to see that it was that café that he took Kaede, well technically it was actually me but anyway. "Isn't it cute?" I looked around to see couples at each table. "I don't know…it feels like the atmosphere is weird for the two of us…" Kikumaru-senpai chuckled and made me sit on the same table we –Kaede (me) and him- sat before. I sighed and dejectedly looked at the menu. A waitress walked up to us with a smile, but it looked like it was directed towards Kikumaru-senpai. For some reason, my heart started aching.

"Welcome, what can I get for you?" I pretended to look at the menu. I sneaked a peek at her. The waitress was twirling her hair like a flirt. I looked at my senpai and saw that he was practically ignoring the poor girl. I unconsciously smiled and finally started to look at the menu. "I want a strawberry parfait. I heard it's tasty." The waitress turned her head and glared at me. 'Shut up.' She mouthed, making me glare at her. "Nya, I'll have a mango parfait then!" It was as if something possessed her when Kikumaru-senpai spoke. "Ok, I'll be back!" She smiled at him before she left.

As soon as she left, I smiled at the boy in front of me. "Ne, Kikumaru-senpai— " I saw him scrunch up his nose. "Nya…you sound like the kids my brother always bring home. They're all like 'Kikumaru-senpai! Help me!'" I giggled at his impersonation. "So call me Eiji from now on k?? I feel old when you address me as that." I nodded and tried it. "Eiji-senpai…" For some reason, I started blushing when I said his name. He smiled at me and pinched my cheeks. "Itai!" I rubbed them as soon as he let go of them. He chuckled and said, "You're so cute when you blush." I blushed harder when he said that.

The waitress arrived with a fake smile when she felt the atmosphere around us. "Here's your order." I smiled at her and said, "Thank you, miss!" She blushed and walked away from us. I smirked and started eating the parfait. "Wow! This taste good, Rio! Here try it." Eiji-senpai got a spoonful and fed me. He was right! The mango tasted so good in my mouth but something in my head clicked. _'NOOO!!!! I just had an indirect kiss with Eiji-senpai!!!!'_ I started choking and soon he was helping me breathe. I finally swallowed the mango parfait and sighed. "Nya, don't scare me like that Rio-chan!" I weakly smiled. "Gomen, senpai. I guess the parfait was too tasty for me." Eiji-senpai grinned.

After eating, both of us just walked around Tokyo. When we saw an arcade, he dragged me there and we started playing random games. I jumped in victory when I beat senpai on a game called _Dance Dance Revolution._ "I won, I won, I won!!" He dejectedly sighed and smiled at me. "Have you ever played this game?" I shook my head. "This is my first time. It was pretty fun." Suddenly my legs felt like jelly and I fell to the ground. Eiji-senpai chuckled and carried me on his back. "Don't worry, let's just go to the park and rest. It seems like you need it."

On the way to the park, I saw Ryoma and Tezuka-buchou going to the renovated tennis courts. I jumped off the acrobatic's back and started running towards them. "Senpai, you can go home! I just saw one of my friends! I'll see you later!"

"Rio!!"

_**Normal POV**_

The crossdresser ran to catch up to the two. When she arrived at the tennis courts, they were already getting ready. She hid under the shadows of the bridge and painfully watched as the match commenced. "It's painful isn't it?" She turned around to see Oishi still in his uniform. "I won't ask where you've been, but I just want your answer." Rio turned back to the match and nodded. "He was the only person who hadn't realized that he was the carbon copy of our dad. When I realized that, I tried to help him get his own style but it didn't work." She gasped when she saw Tezuka's drop shot. "But I thought he had tennis elbow!" Oishi raised an eyebrow. She sheepishly smiled at her senpai. "Oh, I found out when I overheard Fuji-senpai and Eiji-senpai talk." He still kept his eyebrow up. "Um…Eiji-senpai let me call him that?" Before he could speak, Ryoma kneeled on the ground from fatigue.

"Echizen," Ryoma looked up at his buchou. "Become Seigaku's pillar of support!"

_**Rio's POV**_

On the way home, both Ryoma and I were silent. "Ryoma, I--"

"Can you play a match with me, nee-san?" I blinked in surprise. When I finally realized what he was saying, I shook my head. "No, you're tired and you won't play your best. Anyway, I...won't be sharing your burden, Ryoma." It was his turn to blink. "Why?"

"It doesn't concern me. It's only you. I didn't train with dad 24/7. I trained with other people; that's why I have my own playstyle but you, you're the carbon copy of oyaji. When I watch you play, you remind me of him." We arrived home as soon as I finished my sentence. Ryoma went ahead of me, leaving me behind at the doorway. _'Ryoma...I'm sorry...' _When I was about to enter our room, I stopped and turned around. "Nana-nee, can I sleep with you tonight?" Nana-nee smiled and nodded. "But why?" I frowned. "I'm just giving Ryoma space. I'll sleep in your room for two nights, would that be ok?" She nodded. I didn't dare open the door to get my things for fear of Ryoma getting mad at me.

The next day, Tezuka-buchou and Ryoma were absent from club activities again and Eiji-senpai and I were given 50 laps for skipping school yesterday. It seems that a friend of Inui-senpai's told him that he saw us in the cafe yesterday. "Nya...my legs hurt..." Eiji-senpai said as he fainted on the courts. I heavily panted and soon, I fell on my back. "Never again will I skip school..." I looked at the clouds and sighed. _'Ryoma...'_

Eiji-senpai and I jumped up and started doing practice matches when Inui-senpai held out a jug filled with his disgusting, alienated juice. "Eiji-senpai, want to come with me to the tennis store?" I asked as I backhanded the ball back to him. I saw his face light up and nodded vigorously. "Ok!" He jumped and smashed the ball to my side. I smirked and returned the ball in a blink of an eye. The whole club stopped what they were doing and gaped at what I did. I smiled when I saw the ball near the net. I put my racket on my shoulder and said, "Game, set, match."

Before I could walk off the courts to get a drink, Eiji-senpai and Momo-senpai jumped on me and started giving me a noogie. "Hey, cut it out!" They didn't listen and continued on what they were doing. "Where did you learn that, Rio-chan?! What's it called???" Eiji-senpai asked me. "Zero-Shiki Higuma Otoshi*; When I saw Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-buchou practicing. I joined Higuma Otoshi and Zero-Shiki Drop Shot together. I should ask them if I could use them..." Fuji-senpai walked up with a smile. "Sure, Rio-chan, you can use it. In fact, can you teach it to me?" I smirked. "Jealous, senpai?" Fuji-senpai grinned and leaned on my ear. "I guess you can say that I was the one that saw you and Eiji together yesterday." My eyes widened and saw that he had his camera with him. _'NO!!! I don't care if it was Inui-senpai himself who saw us, as long as it's not Fuji-senpai and his camera!!!!!'_

I wobbled out of the courts and put my head under the running water. I saw a flock of my long hair fall and sighed. _'Maybe I should cut it...then again, I do have a reason for keeping it long.'_ I turned off the tap and dried my face. Suddenly, I got an idea. I evilly chuckled as I tiptoed to the clubhouse.

_**Normal POV**_

"Rio, where were you? We were looking-" Momo's eyes widened. "What was that, Momo-senpai?" Eiji walked up to them and soon his eyes widened too. The whole club stopped what they were doing, again, and stared at the transformed Echizen Rio. She had her long hair down and was wearing the girls' tennis club uniform. She giggled and clung to Fuji's arm. "Ne, senpai, let's go on a date!" Eiji glared at his best friend. "Rio, what happened to you?" Oishi worriedly asked as he looked at the bystanders watching the scene. Rio giggled. "Nothing, senpai. I just wanted to make Fuji-senpai feel special! Teehee!" Fuji smirked and bent Rio back. "You're so cute, Rio-chan..." He said as he caressed her face. Rio blushed and giggled. "Yadda, senpai. We're in front of so many people..."

"But I want to show the world how much I love you..."

"Fuji-senpai..." As soon as their lips were about to touch, Rio's wig fell off. Everyone gasped. "Wait, what?!"

Fuji smirked while Rio started laughing on the floor. "Oh my gosh, you should have seen the looks on your faces!!! PRICELESS!!!" Everyone looked at each other with a confused face. "What the heck just happened?" Momo asked.

"Well, you see, I was bored and decided to play a game with you lot. I dressed as a girl and pretended to like Fuji-senpai. Good thing he guessed what I was doing or else the whole thing wouldn't work." Eiji sighed and smiled. "Good, I though it was for real, Rio-chan, nya." Rio smiled. "It's just for fun. I don't really like Fuji-senpai, not in that way. If I did, I'll kill myself first." Fuji raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" The girl smirked and nodded. Fuji smirked and twirled and dipped her. "Not even if I do this?" Rio blushed and shook her head. "You wish, senpai." Fuji's smirk grew as he leaned and kissed her on the cheek. For some reason, squeals could be heard outside the courts. The club members turned and sweatdropped. "It seems that a Fuji X Rio fanclub has been formed..." Inui mumbled as he scirbbled on his notebook. Everyone sighed except for a certain acrobat. _'Fuji...'_

After club activities, Rio could hear the girls whispering.

"I say it's Eiji-kun and Rio-kun!"

"I'm sticking to Fuji-kun and Rio-kun!"

"No! Momo-kun and Rio-kun all the way!!!"

The girl sweatdropped and sighed. _'Why is it me...?'_ Momo and Eiji put their arms around her shoulders while Fuji walked in front of them. The girls could be heard squealing.

"I change my mind!! Fuji X Eiji X Momo X Rio!!!!!!!!"

The regulars sweatdropped and sighed. "I guess this is what you call Yaoi Fandom, eh?" They all nodded and soon they were on their way homes.

Eiji and Rio were the last ones together. "Are you sure you don't like Fuji???" Rio twitched. "For the millionth time, senpai: NO! As if I would like that sadist..." Eiji sighed and smiled. They soon saw the Echizen house. Rio opened the gate and smiled. "I'll see you, Eiji-senpai." The acrobatic smiled and nodded. "Mata ashita!*" Eiji turned and started running to his house. As soon as she got inside, her cousin smiled at her. "Okaerinasai*, Ririn-chan."

"Tadaima*, nee-chan. Is Ryoma home?" She nodded. "He's playing a game with oji-san." Rio smiled and went to the tennis court her father built. Her eyes widened when she saw the point her brother made, the first point Ryoma ever made against him. She smiled when she saw her brother's eyes. _'He finally realized it...'_

"I want to become stronger! More stronger!"

* * *

**_OK!!!! Finally I updated. To all Australians: HAPPY NO-MORE-SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^^_**

**_Anyway, as usual, I do not own anything except for the things that you read that is not part of the original. Apart from that I have no more things to say..._**

**_*Zero Shiki Higuma Otoshi - _Zero Degree Bear Drop. *shrugs* I guess this is what happens when I get no plot bunnies....**

**_*Mata ashita - _See you tomorrow!!**

**_*Okaerinasai -_ Welcome home.**

**_*Tadaima - _I'm home/I'm back.**

**By the way, sorry for the grammar and stuff. I'm not using Microsoft because I'm in a different computer...Mom's been hogging it....T_T**


	8. Karupin and Trouble in Paradise

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 8 – KARUPIN and Trouble in Paradise**

_**Normal POV**_

Echizen Rio yawned and stretched her arms. She noticed something was missing. "Where's Ryoma?"

"Ryoma-san left already." Her eyes widened and ran past her cousin to get ready. "WAHH!!! I'm gonna be late!!" Kurorin looked at her owner with confused eyes. Rio hastily put on her wig and ran out with croissant at hand. "Meow!" Kurorin followed her out of the house and to the streets. When the girl heard a meow, she turned around and saw her cat. "Kurorin, go home!" Again, the cat looked at her owner with confused eyes. The cross-dresser sighed and walked up to her cat. She picked her up and carried her back to the Echizen house. "I'll cry if you get lost, Kurorin." The Himalayan meowed and cuddled in her arms. Rio smiled and left her with her cousin. "I'll come back and play with you ok?" With a goodbye wave, she left to her destination.

"I'm gonna be late if I don't hurry." She said as she ran to Seishun Gakuen. "Hoi hoi!" Rio grunted as she was tackled to the ground. "Eiji-senpai!" The senior smiled and picked her up bridal-style. "Wait, senpai what are you doing?!"

"You said you were gonna be late for school right?"

"Wait-!" Her struggles were futile as the senior was already running to school while carrying her. Luckily, there were no students in the courtyard. She jumped out of his arms when they entered the gates. "NEVER do that again, Eiji-senpai." Her senpai just smiled at her and gave her bag to her. "Remember that we weren't able to go to the tennis store yesterday?" Rio nodded. "Wanna go after-school? I just remembered that the shoes I wanted arrived yesterday." His kohai smiled and nodded. "Ok, it's a date!" To Rio, it felt like time stopped. _'Wait, what?!'_

"I'll see you later!" Eiji said as he bounced to his classroom.

It took minutes before Rio could comprehend what just happened. The blush was evident on her face as she wobbled to her classroom. _'A…date…with Eiji-senpai…'_ She saw something move at the corner of her eye. When she looked at what she saw, her eyes widened. _'KARUPIN?!?'_ She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Rio sighed when she saw no cat. _'Must've imagined it…'_

When she arrived at her class, she saw her teacher glaring at her. "Echizen, you're 15 minutes late. If you don't finish your exam during class, you'll have detention after-school." Rio sighed and started the exam as soon as she sat down. What the teacher didn't know was that the exam was easy to the Echizen twins, since they were raised in America. "You only have 20 minutes left." Rio put down her pencil and yawned. _'That was easy…'_ She then looked out the window.

"No way!" She stood up along with her brother. I guess they both saw the same thing: Karupin.

"Echizen!" Rio cringed as the teacher walked up to them. He looked at their tests with wide eyes. "Ryoma-kun, you only have the last question to do." When he looked at Rio's, he sighed. "Rio-kun, just be quiet." Everyone gasped as the twins sat down. Ryoma threw a note at his twin. _"Nee-chan, you saw Karupin?"_ Rio was about to reply when the bell rang. "Good job, kids." The teacher left and the female twin walked up to Ryoma and flicked his forehead. "I guessing that it's your fault that Karupin's here in school." He frowned and opened his bag. "Wait, that Karupin's cat toy! So he followed you here?! You know that Karupin loves that toy." He flinched and nodded. Rio sighed and gathered her things. "We'll search for him during break. Right now we have science." Ryoma nodded and gathered his things. As the twins walked to the science lab, Horio walked up to them with an annoyed face. "Echizen, you told me you were nervous!" The male twin smirked and linked his arm with his twin. "Maybe you need to clean your ears, Horio." Rio snickered as Horio sulkily walked behind them. "Fine, fine, but Rio can you tutor me in English?"

"I don't think you'd be able to handle my tutoring…" Rio said with evil eyes. He stepped back with a frightened look on his face. She chuckled as Ryoma opened the door to the lab. They were shocked to see Inui Sadaharu in the room. "How come you're here, Inui-senpai? This is where our next class is." Horio said. "I have some experiments I wanted to do during my break. Of course I got permission from the teacher." Horio nervously laughed. The three freshmen walked up to their senpai just to see him put something in a beaker. "Interesting color…what is it?" Rio asked. "A prototype of my new vegetable juice," he turned to face Horio. "Do you want to try it?" The cross-dresser laughed when her classmate rapidly shook his head. The teacher arrived when Inui finished cleaning up with his prototype being stored in a thermos. "I'll see you all in practice." Inui left with a new glint from his glasses. _'I think Inui-senpai enjoys seeing us writhe…'_ Rio thought as she listened to her teacher.

It was lunchtime and Ryoma kept on staring at Karupin's cat toy. Rio sighed and slapped her brother on the back. "Don't sulk, it's not good for your image in school." Horio walked up to them. "What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing." They chorused. The brown haired boy smiled. "Let's eat then!"

As the three ate, the twins were worried about their furry friend. Just when Ryoma was about to stand up, Tomoka and Sakuno entered their class and gave them some cake that Sakuno baked. "Wow! It looks delicious! Itadakimasu!" Horio was about to reach for one when Tomoka slapped his hand away. "Baka! These are only for Ryoma-sama and Rio-sama." Rio chuckled and stuck her tongue out to Horio. "You lose, Horio." The brown haired boy blushed in embarrassment.

"Whoa, there's good food in here!" The first years turned their heads to see Momo with an armful of food. He strutted in the class and almost started drooling at the cakes. "Go ahead, Momo-senpai!"

"Wow! Itadakimasu!" Rio shook her head and looked at her brother. She frowned and patted her brother's shoulder. Ryoma stood up and took a piece of cake and one of Momo's drinks. Momo sighed as the freshman left the room. "He doesn't treat me like a senpai…"

Rio followed him, thinking that maybe he'll start looking for his cat. She caught up to him and smiled. "I'll take the left and you take the right. Don't worry, we'll find him." The Echizen twins looked high and low for their furry friend and soon the bell rang, signaling for club activities. "Did you find him?" Rio asked her brother as they changed in the clubhouse. Ryoma shook his head. The cross-dresser sighed. "We'll search after club ok?" The door opened and Rio rushed to the bathroom only to sigh and saw Momo. "Whoa, you guys are early," he said with a blush. "And Rio, you still need to change in the bathroom." Rio smirked and winked at him. "You like what you see?" Momo continued to blush as he stared at the bra-clad Rio. He looked away from her and started staring at a wall. "Put your shirt on, dammit!" Rio chuckled and put on her shirt.

Soon, Momo felt the tension around Ryoma. "Are you worried about something?" He asked. "Why do you ask?" Ryoma asked him. Mom shrugged off his jacket and said, "Nothing, just a thought. And because Horio said it too. That you're different from usual."

"My cat… Me and Rio thought we saw him here in school." The prodigy said as he stood up. Rio sighed. "It's possible that Karupin followed him…"

"My classmates said that they saw a white raccoon on the roof during lunch break. There's no way that raccoon is your cat right?" Ryoma started shaking with a shocked look on his face. "I'll go check the roof." Rio grabbed his shoulder before he left. "He might've left already. They did saw him during lunch."

Ryoma glared at his sister. "But he may still be around!" Rio glared back and was about to yell at him when Momo gave Ryoma his keys to his bike. "You can borrow my bike to look for him." Momo smiled. "Don't worry, cats are better at finding their way around than people."

"But he's never been so far away from home before…"

"That's why you should find him. Maybe he already went home. Just go, Echizen." Ryoma gave a small smile and took the keys from his senpai's hands. "Momo-senpai, I'll definitely return the favor."

"Come back quickly!" Rio yelled. Momo smiled and patted her head. "Now, get out, I need to change." Rio smirked. "Maybe I want to watch you change, Momo-senpai…" Momo blushed and pushed her out of the clubroom. "Che, doesn't appreciate females…" She walked up to Ryuzaki and Tezuka. "Um, sensei, buchou, Ryoma said our mom told him to come home quickly after school." Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" Rio weakly smiled. "Because our uncle from America is coming and she needed him to help around the house."

"What about you?"

"I managed to get away from her radar." She said with a big grin. Ryuzaki sighed. "You guys could've told us earlier. We're going to finish early today." Rio widened her eyes and face-palmed herself. "I forgot. Tomorrow's the game…"

Rio squeaked as she was grabbed by Eiji. "Train with me, Rio!" She blushed and nodded. She saw Kaido walk in the courts. "Yo." Inui said. "Afternoon." Kaido said with a small bow. "Hm…he's in a good mood…" That shocked the first years. "YOU CAN TELL?!"

A few hours later, everyone started packing up. "Thank you for today!" Eiji got his bag and Rio's bag. "Huh? Why do you have my bag, senpai?" She asked when he gave her bag to her. "Remember our deal this morning?" Oishi walked up to them, making Eiji smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Oishi."

"You're going like that?" He asked. Eiji grabbed Rio's arm and said. "It would suck if it sold out, right Rio?"

"Gah, Eiji-senpai!" She yelled as he dragged her away from Seigaku. When they were far enough, Eiji let go off her and smiled. "Let's go, Rio-chan!" The two jogged to the tennis shop where Eiji fitted the new shoes and Rio looking around the shop, trying to find a grip tape. "This is it!!" She heard her senpai. She walked up to him and smiled. "Isn't that the one with the great suction?" Eiji nodded. "Mister, how much is it?"

"Let's see… 12,000 yen plus tax." The acrobat looked in his wallet. "AAHHH!!! 80 yen short!!" He turned to Rio and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Rio, can I borrow money?????" She blushed and shook her head. "I only have enough for a grip tape, senpai. Gomen." Eiji yelled in agony and ran out the store. "Eiji?" Rio looked outside and saw Oishi, Tezuka, and Momo with Karupin. "Karupin!!" She rushed up to the cat, making the cat meow in happiness. Rio grabbed the cat from Momo and nuzzled her cheek to his cheek. "Where have you been? Me and Ryoma and I have been worried sick!"

"Huh? Oishi?" Eiji ran up to the mother hen. "Please! Lend me 80 yen! Lend me 80 yen! Lend me 80 yen!" He begged. "80 yen?" Rio pointed at the shoes on her senpai's feet. Oishi looked down and chuckled. "Hai, hai." Eiji smiled and pumped his fists in the air. "YES!!" Rio and Eiji bought their things and left with Tezuka and the gang. When they arrived at the Echizen household, Rio was about to open the door when Ryoma opened it. "Ryoma, look who I have!" Karupin meowed and jumped out of Rio's arms. Ryoma widened his eyes and let a small blush appear across his face. "Thank you…"

Tezuka walked up and gave him a piece of paper. "This is from Ryuzaki-sensei."

Oishi put down the bag he was holding. "I'll leave your bag here."

Eiji smiled and waved at Ryoma. "See you tomorrow!"

Oishi smiled and said, "Send our regards to your relative."

"Relative?" Rio snickered. Ryoma raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. Eiji motioned Rio to follow him. Rio raised an eyebrow and followed her senpai out of the house gate. "Ne, Rio, I want to tell you something. Is there somewhere private we can talk?" Rio nodded. She led him to the park near their house and sat on the swings. Eiji smiled and sat next to her. "Ne, what do you think of me?" Rio blushed and looked up the orange sky. "I think Eiji-senpai is a fun guy, nice, and carefree." Eiji smiled and started pushing himself. "What would you say if I said 'I like you'?" Rio widened her eyes and looked at her senpai with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

Eiji smiled. "I like you." The female twin felt like she was in heaven for some unknown reason. _'What am I feeling?! Is this what they call _love_?'_ She sighed and pushed herself. "Senpai, why the sudden confession?"

"Because for some reason I feel like I need to protect you."

"From what?"

"Anything that would make you sad; anything that would hurt you." Rio smiled. "Thanks, Eiji-senpai but I think I can handle myself. I'm a strong guy you know."

"But why are your eyes still look like you're in pain?" Rio's golden eyes widened and blushed. "Um, that's, um…" Eiji chuckled. "Don't worry, when you're ready, tell me ok?" He said with his face near hers. "Besides you still haven't answered my question: do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Eiji-senpai, you walk that way?!" She said as she abruptly stood up. "No, you're the only exception I'll make." Rio sighed. "I don't know, senpai. I don't know what I'm feeling anymore…" Eiji smiled and ruffled her hair. "Ahh, it feels like I've been rejected!" He got off the swing and grinned at her. "Once you find your answer, tell me ok? Don't keep me waiting ok?" Rio nodded. Eiji held out his hand and she grabbed it. "Mind if I hold your hand on the way home?" She blushed and shook her head.

They walked back to the Echizen house in comfortable silence. "Thanks for telling me, Eiji-senpai." Eiji smiled. "No problem! Don't keep me waiting ok?" She nodded. "Bye, senpai!" As soon as Eiji left, she let her back connect to the wall and slid down to ground. "So Eiji-senpai likes me…"

-----------

Echizen Rio couldn't sleep. All she could think of was her senpai's confession. She groaned. "I can't sleep!!!" She got out of bed and looked at the clock. She sighed in aggravation. "It's 6am, dammit!" Rio got ready for the day and jogged to the tournament to try and get her mind off his confession. She sighed and got a peach Ponta from the vending machine and waited.

After 5 minutes she twitched. "I can't wait! Might as well practice…no one is here…" She got up and went to an open court. She got out her racket and started bouncing the ball against the wall. She closed her eyes and continued playing. She abruptly opened her eyes and made a 360 twist. The ball had a strong spin and spin in place on the wall. "Whoa, did you improve that, Rio-chan???" She turned around and saw Eiji. She blushed and nodded. "Yea, I manage to make it stay on its place for a long time. I call it Frozen Twist." Eiji smiled and got out his racket. "Want to play a game with me?" Rio smiled and nodded. "If I win, we go on a date tomorrow!" The girl blushed. "Senpai…" Eiji just smiled and started bouncing the ball. "Here I go!" The ball was hit by his racket, making the ball bounce on the service box and to the waiting Rio. She smiled and hit it back.

They continued a simple rally for a while until Rio smirked and dragged her racket on the ground. "What?! You're going to do Moon Volley???" Eiji asked as he hit the tennis ball. She shook her head and let the ball land near the top rim of her racket. The acrobat looked confused and started looking around for the ball. "Um, senpai, it's behind you." He turned around and widened his eyes. "What?! It's so near me!!"

"It's called Kameleon Volley. It's really fast spin makes it almost invisible. I thought you'd be able to see it." Eiji shook his head. "It's too fast and it looked like there's more than 1 ball." Rio chuckled and made a peace sign. "Victory for me!" Eiji sighed. "But, I'll still go on that date, senpai." Eiji then smiled and glomped her. "Thank you, Rio-chan!!" Rio smiled. "You're welcome, senpai."

"What date, Eiji-senpai?" The two froze and turned around only to see two smirking regulars and one scribbling on his green notebook. Rio blushed and played with her fingers. "Um, that, uh…" Momo laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. "Good job, you two! So when did you become a couple?" Rio shook her head. "He still doesn't know my answer and the secret!" She whispered in his ear. Momo raised an eyebrow. "But, we heard…"

"Just a date, nothing else." Eiji said while glaring at Momo's arm around Rio. The said junior froze and let go of her. Fuji chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "We'll keep this a secret, right boys?" The two nodded, making Rio and Eiji sigh in relief. "Thanks, guys."

The five of them walked to where the Seigaku regulars were meeting. "Huh? Where's Ryoma, Rio?" Ryuzaki asked her. Rio sweatdropped. "I have no idea… I woke up at 6 and just decided to wait here." Ryuzaki sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Has Oishi contacted him?"

"Doesn't seem like it…" Kawamura said. "Why did he have to be late now?" Horio said with a sigh. "You'll be disqualified if you don't register soon." Everyone turned around and saw Inoue and Shiba, the reporters for Monthly Tennis. "But Ryoma isn't still here…" Kachiro said. "Haha, to be late for the tournament, Ryoma-sama is too funny!" Tomoka said. "To say something at a time like this…" Sakuno said with a frown.

"Hey!" Everyone turned their heads to see Oishi running towards them. "I contacted Echizen!" He stopped in front of them and said, "Seems like he helped a pregnant woman who was in labor get to the hospital." It was silent for a few minutes. "That's a lie," Rio said while pulling down her cap. "He must've overslept…" Their coach sighed. "If we wait for him, we won't meet the deadline. He'll get his scolding later." She faced Rio. "Pretend you're Ryoma." Rio frowned. "No thanks, what will they say if their reserve didn't come? Besides, I think Horio makes a perfect Ryoma." The said boy froze as Ryuzaki stared at him. "Not working. We'll just have Horio pretend he's you and you pretend you're Ryoma." Rio sighed and nodded. "Kaido, lend Horio your jersey!"

A few minutes later, they got to the register stall and Tezuka gave the person their form. The person then explained the basic regulations of the tournament and smiled when he saw that everyone understood. "Huh? Seigaku has a freshman regular?" Rio yawned and waved a hand. "Yo."

"And you guys also have a freshman reserve?" Horio froze and grasped the cap on his head. Everyone started staring at him with nervous eyes. "Ma-Mada Mada Dane." The person laughed. "They look very trustworthy." Rio face-palmed herself. "Damn you Horio…" She mumbled. She sighed and put her hands behind her head and started walking away. "Where are you going?" Eiji said as he ran up to her. "Ponta. I bet Ryoma needs one when he gets here." Eiji smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "If only I could put my arm around your waist…" He said with a sigh. Rio blushed and tried to not look at him.

When they got back, Horio and the other freshmen were nowhere to be found. They shrugged and went to the courts. "Here, I put your things on the bench." Eiji said as he had his hand out. Rio nodded and took off her jersey. The two of them started stretching along with the other regulars. "Fuji, Kawamura, you're up first, then Oishi and Eiji, then Kaido, Rio and Tezuka." Rio sighed. "I'll kill you, Ryoma…"

First up was Fuji and Kawamura, and of course they won 6-0. Same as Oishi-Eiji and Kaido. Rio was about to enter the court when her brother arrived. She glared at him and bonked him on the head. "I'll kill you when we get home."

"But we want to see you play in a tournament!!" Eiji said with a huge grin. Rio blushed and pulled down her cap to hide her face. "Ma-maybe this one game…" Everyone raised their eyebrows and looked between Eiji and Rio. "Did something happen between you two?" They shook their head and smiled.

Rio walked to the baseline and smirked at the poor unfortunate soul. She bounced the yellow ball and served it. The opponent returned it, making Rio smirk. She started doing cartwheels to rally the ball, back flips, and jumps. "GO RIO-CHAN!!!!" She blushed and gave the winning point, making the score 6-0. "You did it!!" Eiji ran up to her and jumped on her. "Se-senpai…" Rio turned her head to see Tezuka in his game clothes. "The king has finally been cured." She said as she watched his match, which ended in 6-0. "As expected from Tezuka-buchou."

Inui noticed a boy behind the fence, staring at Seigaku's games. "Isn't he St Rudolph's…?" HE shook his head and adjusted his glasses. _'Looks like trouble in paradise…'_

* * *

**_Ok, an apology is needed. I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE 3MONTH WAIT!!!! _**

**_Seriously, I got...writer's block. :( I hate it when I get writer's block, plus with all my projects and such..._**

**_Anyway, I think this chapter was a bit...um...I dunno. I think Eiji was a bit OOC. _**

**_But I do like the confession part-ish..._**

**_Scratch that, that part was a bit rushed so FORGIVE ME!!! _**

**_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS!! Only Rio and some random people popping in the story :)_**


	9. Knowing Eyes

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 9 – Knowing Eyes**

As Seigaku played against Akiyamasan Chuu, Rio raised an eyebrow as she witnessed the other regulars struggled against them. Most of the shots from the opponent were being hit to where many of the regulars' hard-to-reach places. She looked up and saw that Inui had come to the same conclusion as her: someone had told Akiyamasan their weaknesses.

Eiji bounced over to where she sat and grinned. He lied on the grass and sighed. "It sure is hot today, ne, Rio-chan?" She nodded and took a sip of her grape Ponta.

"Ne, senpai, did you have trouble during the game?" Eiji looked at her and nodded.

"They played the kind of tennis I don't handle well, same as Oishi. It's like they knew where to hit!" Rio sighed and stood up. "Where are you going?"

"Shower, it's too hot. I don't think I can handle it."

"Nya, I'll join you!" The female twin froze and mechanically turned to face the grinning acrobatic. "What? We're both boys."

"Yadda. ZETTAI YADDA!" She hid her blushing face as she ran away from her confused senior. After a few seconds, Eiji jumped up and ran after her.

"Mou, Rio-chan!"

"ZETTAI YADDA!"

She ran and ran until she ran around a corner and saw that he ran past her. She panted and took deep breaths. After a few minutes of resting, she removed her wig and her jersey. She noticed that her shirt was clinging on to her and blushed when she saw that people could see her small curves. She shook that thought out of her head and peeked to see if no one could see her. When the coast was clear, she sprinted towards the girls' locker rooms. "Finally… A shower…"

"Oi, Rio-chan!" Rio froze and turned around only to see Tachibana An. "What are you doing?"

"Ah," she rubbed the back of her head. "It's too hot so I was planning on taking a shower. What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as you. I'm sure my brother could handle the team without me." And with that, the two girls took a shower to get away from the heat for a while. Once they finished, Rio realized that she wouldn't be able to put her wig on for a while.

"Oh no, I should of thought about this earlier! Not good," Rio whined as she hesitantly took out her girl's clothes. "Now I have to wear this…" An saw the clothes and smiled.

"Why not? It's very cute, Rio-chan."

"But it has a skirt!"

"You don't like skirts?"

"No, I hate feeling that my legs aren't covered." Rio sighed and put on the white skirt and grimaced. "But it'll have to do…"

"Wait, what about when you go to the matches?" Rio froze. "You haven't thought about that too, haven't you?" The female freshman nervously chuckled and sweatdropped.

"Well, I'll just say I came as a cheerer for Seigaku, I guess."

"But what about your Seigaku bag?" Rio facepalmed.

"Must you add more to my misery?" An gave her a peace sign and grinned. She grabbed her pink tennis bag and saluted her.

"I'll see you later, Kaede-chan!" An ran off giggling as Rio continued to sulk under her personal cloud of misery. After sulking for a few minutes, she got out her white visor hat and rented a locker. She reluctantly put her things in the locker and sighed.

"I might as well go out now. I wonder what match they have right now."

…..

Rio jogged to where Seigaku was currently playing. Her golden eyes widened at who was currently playing in Doubles 2. "Momo-senpai and Kaido-senpai?" Heads turned to face her and the people who knew who she was raised an eyebrow at her while the others looked at her with confused faces. Eiji smiled and bounced towards her.

"Kaede-chan! What are you doing here?" Rio blushed and hid her blushing face in the shadows.

"Um, I heard that Seigaku was playing against St. Rudolph so I was curious. So Momoshiro-Kaido pair against Yanagisawa-Kisarazu pair from St. Rudolph, ne?" When it was time to change courts, Momo looked up and saw Rio in female clothing. She waved at him and grinned. "Ganbatte, Momo-chan, Kaido-kun!"

Kaido looked up and blushed when he saw Rio. She chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. Ryuzaki-sensei turned around and raised an eyebrow at Rio. The young girl shrugged and mouthed the word 'shower'. She nodded and faced her regulars again as they continued the game.

Rio raised an eyebrow as Kaido failed to return a shot. She looked at the bench coach for St. Rudolph and narrowed her eyes as he kept on staring at the Seigaku regulars. "Ne, doesn't it look like they're waiting for Kaido to use the Snake shot?" Inui looked at her and nodded. She faced the match again and twitched as Kaido was getting irritated at the opponents' words. The rally was long and it was obvious that each player were tired and burning from the sun.

When it was time to change courts, Rio walked near to where they were resting and waved at them. They looked up and slightly smiled at her and glared when the other noticed each other smiling at her. Rio sweatdropped and weakly chuckled at their stubbornness. As they got back to the court, Horio kept on stating that Momo and Kaido would fall apart before the end of the game. Rio glared at him and poked his chest. "Just because Momo-chan and Kaido-kun are rivals doesn't mean they won't work together. Each and every one of us are rivals yet we work together to improve our skills! I for one think they'll win, who's with me?"

Fuji and Oishi smiled while Inui nodded in agreement. Tezuka gave Rio a nod of approval. The female twin smiled and pumped her fist in the air. "SEIGAKU!"

"Fight-o! Fight-o!"

Momo looked at the side and grinned. Kaido just hissed and swung his racket to get his arm ready. Yanagisawa walked up to them and grinned. "It's something our wonderful manager said, the simulation based on the analysis of your data says we will win by 6-2, dane! The situation right now seems to completely follow it, dane! You guys won 2 games, dane! Mizuki's scenario is pretty scary, dane. No matter what match, it follows his predictions, dane. You can see the result no matter what happens, dane!"

"Dane, dane, YOU'RE ANNOYING DANE!" Kaido and Momo simultaneously said. Rio chuckled and put her arm around Ryoma's shoulder.

"Think they have what it takes?"

"Mada mada dane." Rio just chuckled and continued to watch the game. She twitched when Mizuki called a time-out when Momo and Kaido were all in heat. This doused the two's fighting spirit. She wanted to punch the hell out of the loser who tried to annoy Inui. Then again, those two don't listen to any advice, whether if it is for their own good or bad. She didn't notice Ryoma leave until she got hit by a can of Ponta.

"Itai!" Because of that, she wasn't able to see Kaido's Boomerang Snake! "Mou, Ryoma! I didn't get to see Kaido!"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma took a sip of his grape Ponta and slightly grinned. Rio huffed and opened her Ponta as she watched the rest of the game. She laughed when a runaway ball hit Ryoma's head.

"Karma, Ryoma. Karma, dane." She grinned and gave him a peace sign with her fingers. He glared at her and sat under the shade. Rio giggled at his annoyed stance and squeaked when another ball hit her head. She turned around and saw Momo giving her a peace sign and a weak smile.

"Gomen, Kaede-chan." She huffed and sipped her Ponta. Rio widened her eyes and spat out her Ponta on Horio when Momo did a dunk smash and hit the opponent's face. Yanagisawa fell on the court waving in and out of consciousness.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rio fell on the ground laughing her bum off. "That's gotta hurt Momo's pride!" Momo walked up to her with pleading eyes.

"Mou, Kaede-chan, tell them I want to play more!"

"BWAHAHAHA!" She continued to laugh even when Momo picked her up and started tickling her. "HAHAHA! Momo, haha, stop it!"

"Mou, Momo, I want Kaede-chan to watch my game!" Momo stopped and looked behind him. Eiji was standing with his eyes wide. The powerhouse stopped tickling the still-giggling Rio and helped her up. Eiji grinned and jumped on her. "Watch me play, nya!"

"But don't you want Rio to watch you play?"

"Huh?" He looked around and saw that his favorite kohai wasn't here. "Now that you've mentioned it…" He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Where is Rio?"

"He said that he'll be back before you start your game so start warming up, Eiji-kun!" Eiji smiled and nodded.

"Nya, I have to play my best for Rio-chan!" And with that, Eiji bounced away with Rio running to the changing rooms to change back now that her hair has dried. Once she finished changing, she grabbed her tennis bag and ran to where Eiji and Oishi were playing. When she saw him about to enter the courts, she dropped her bag and started waving.

"Ganbare, Eiji-senpai!" He stopped and looked back. His eyes had a new glint in them. She gave him a huge smile. "You better win, Eiji-senpai, or else the deal's off!"

"Mou, Rio-chan, you promised!" She just laughed and continued to smile at him. He gave her a small salute and ran inside with a new jump in his step. Oishi noticed it and smiled at Rio. He mouthed a thank you, which made her blush.

She jogged to the courts and saw Inui with his glasses glinting in the sun. Rio raised an eyebrow when he gave her a piece of paper. When she read it, she froze and mechanically looked at him. "You can't be serious…?"

"I am, Echizen-ani. I've known since the beginning."

"Why are you telling me this now, Inui-senpai?"

"Because I just had to ruin your moment between Kikumaru." She gave him a straight face and sighed.

"Hai, hai, so do you want to tell everyone now?"

Inui raised his glasses with his finger and smirked. "Oh no, I want to see everyone's reactions."

It was Rio's turn to smirk. "Too late, senpai. Since you know, there are only 3 people left that don't know who I am." Inui twitched and sighed.

Rio turned to face the match only to widen her eyes. "Why…why is Eiji-senpai being pushed back…?" She gripped the fence and watched with worried eyes. It was then when she saw the ball she winced and closed her eyes. "Itai…my eyes hurt…why are there more than 2 balls…" Ryoma walked up to her and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm wondering the same thing…"

Rio continued to watch as her eyes continued to ache from the spin of the ball. Inui explained that the ball's spin was made by the captain of St. Rudolph. She narrowed her eyes to try to watch the game but the ball's spin kept getting in the way, making her growl in anger. "Mou, that buchou better stop! I can't watch the game properly!" And it was obvious with her slightly red eyes. Fuji patted her on the shoulders.

"Do you want to rest? I can tell you what happens." She shook her head.

"I want to support Eiji-senpai. That captain's just annoying." When she saw Eiji twirling his racket around his wrist, she smiled. "He still wants to continue. Ganbare, Eiji-senpai!"

The match continued with St Rudolph still attacking Eiji. Everyone gasped as Eiji was about to fall to the court. Akazawa smirked and hit the ball towards him. "Heheh no Kappa!" Eiji ducked and Oishi hit the ball with his specialty, Moon Volley. Rio's eyes followed the ball's movement and cheered when it fell precisely on the line. "Woohoo, go Oishi-senpai!"

Oishi continued to gain points with his Moon Volley and game-making abilities, making the match 2-2. When it was time to change courts, Rio walked up to where they were resting and tried to fit her hand through the holes of the fence. Eiji saw her attempts and smiled. He walked up to her and gently grasped her outstretched fingers. She blushed but grinned at him. "Ganbare, Eiji-senpai."

"You better keep your deal, Rio-chan." She chuckled and nodded.

"I will, win or lose."

It was Oishi's turn to serve and made the audience gasp with their formation. "That's the Australian Formation!" Mizuki exclaimed. Inoue, the reporter from the magazine explained how the high-level formation works. They continued using the formation with no problems. Everyone was shocked when the captain of the other team started yelling. Then a while after that, the other half of the players started yelling at him like his captain was stupid. It looks like St Rudolph was panicking under pressure. Rio smirked when Ryoma left with his cap down and his racket in his hands.

As the game continued, Eiji was losing stamina fast. During the changing of courts, Eiji was heavily panting with his towel over his head. Oishi was trying to give him his bottle but Eiji wouldn't budge and kept on panting. Oishi looked up and saw Rio's worried face. She clutched the fence tighter, wishing she could be next to him. "Eiji-senpai…"

"Seigaku, please enter the court quickly." Oishi stopped and looked behind him. Eiji was still in the same position with his heavy panting. Rio felt her heart drop to see her senpai struggling. Eiji just stood in the court while Oishi took every single one of the balls being returned to their side.

Tears pricked the edges of Rio's eyes as she continued to watch the Golden Pair suffer. _'Mou, Eiji-senpai! Wake up! Onegai!'_ Fuji saw her nearly crying face and opened his eyes.

'_She likes him, just as Eiji likes her. And the only thing that blocks their love is her secret…'_

Fuji's thoughts were interrupted when the crowd cheered, or specifically, Rio's loud cheer. He saw her jump up and down with a huge smile on her face. He looked at the courts to see Eiji's grinning face. Eiji faced Rio and gave her a peace sign. She wiped the small tears from her eyes and returned the gesture.

"I'm done recharging!"

The match then became a tiebreaker. It continued on until Eiji ran out of stamina, giving St Rudolph the win. Oishi helped Eiji out of the courts to where Rio was sitting. She nodded and gave way to the fallen regular who coincidentally fell on her lap. She blushed but smiled as she watched him sleep. Her hand subconsciously moved onto his red hair, brushing it off his serene face.

At the same time, Fuji and Oishi watched them with knowing eyes.

Fuji now realized that in order for them to get together, Rio has to tell the truth. And soon.

* * *

**_GOMENASAI! Sorry for the late update!_**

**_I am finally in summer holidays so I have time to update my stories! BUI!_**

**_Anyway, usual disclaimer: Do not and will not ever own Prince of Tennis... _**


	10. Kidnapped!

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 10 – Kidnapped!**

The match between Fuji Yuuta and Echizen Ryoma commenced and Echizen Rio was currently napping with Kikumaru Eiji on her lap. The two didn't wake up until the crowd yelled in excitement. They jumped in the air, with Rio landing on Eiji. How that happened, I don't know. But that left a blushing Rio and a smiling Eiji. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face on her neck. She froze and let herself faint from embarrassment.

"Oi, Rio-chan, ah! Wake up!" Fuji's concentrated mind was interrupted by his classmate's yell. He looked behind him and stifled a laugh. Eiji was shaking a red and unconscious Rio.

'_Must be from embarrassment…'_ He chuckled for a moment which died down after a while. He saw Mizuki enter the courts with confidence emitting from every pore of his body. The tensai rummaged in his bag with a serious face. "Tezuka, do you feel like playing?" He stood up with his sapphire eyes open. "Sorry, but it looks like you won't get to play this time."

As Fuji entered the courts, Eiji stopped shaking Rio and sighed. "Mou, you won't get to see Fujiko play." He gently placed her on the base of the tree and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. He smiled and discreetly kissed her cheek and ran up to watch Fuji's game.

Praises were given to the egoistical manager of St Rudolph as he continued to beat Fuji with his researched data. Fuji had his eyes open the whole game with a distressed look on his face. It was as if he was having trouble against his opponent. That shocked the hell out of everyone watching. The score was now 5 – 0 and it was time to change courts. As Fuji and Mizuki passed each other, Fuji hid his eye under the shadow of his hair and stopped.

"Mizuki, did you teach Yuuta the twist spin shot, knowing that it'd do damage to his shoulder?"

Yuuta, who was at the fence across from them, gasped.

"Winning's the most important thing. To me, there are causalities to victory."

And with that, Fuji had a new look on his face as he changed his light blue racket to a gold racket. Mizuki smirked as he served to an angry Fuji. As Fuji returned it, the opponent's smirk widened as he hit it to what he thought was Fuji's weak side. He gasped and froze when Fuji returned it. "That shot was supposed to hit on your weak side…" He mumbled out.

"That shot just now was aimed at my stronger side." Mizuki's eyes widened and let his hair fly with the wind. The crowd cheered and Eiji pumped his fists in the air.

"There you go! You're on!" He heard a groan and grinned when he saw Rio shaking her head.

"Mou…my head hurts…" She squealed when Eiji grabbed her and placed her over his shoulders. "Eiji-senpai, put me down!"

"Yadda, we have a match to watch!" She noticed that Ryoma's match was finished and gave her brother a weak smile. He waved her off, as if saying that it's no big deal. The female looked at the courts and widened her cat-like eyes at the serious Fuji.

"What happened?" Oishi looked up and explained to her that his brother Yuuta used a dangerous shot called twist spin shot.

"Mizuki taught him that so Fuji's out being a protective brother. I would've done that too if I had a brother."

"But why's the score 5 – 0, with Mizuki leading?"

"You'll find out later."

Then again, it didn't take long for Rio to realize that Fuji was out to embarrass Mizuki in front of everyone. Mizuki kept on hitting the ball to Fuji's 'weak spots' and panicked every time Fuji returned it.

"You do realize that all the shots you've been giving me are all my forte, right?"

Mizuki froze. _'This is not happening. There are no flaws in my data!'_ He was now heavily panting after trying his best to return every ball returned to him.

"Fuji isn't the kind of person that allows others to know his weaknesses." Everyone faced Seigaku's data man. "He only thought that he knew them because of his arrogance."

"Game and match for Seigaku's Fuji, 7 – 5."

Fuji walked up to an angry Mizuki. "You bitch! You lost 5 games on purpose!"

"Thank you for taking care of my brother."

Rio jumped off Eiji's shoulders and ran inside the courts. She jumped on him and grinned. "Yehey! We won! Congratulations, Fuji-senpai!" He smiled and patted her head.

"Arigatou, Rio-chan. But you better get off me, I don't want two holes anywhere on my body." She turned around and saw Eiji glaring holes on the tensai. She weakly chuckled and walked up to him.

"You can stop now, Eiji-senpai. I was just congratulating Fuji-senpai." Eiji looked down and smiled.

"Hai, hai, Rio-chan." The top four teams lined up against each other as the tennis associates tell them about the matches in one week. As the teams left, Rio was grabbed by Eiji and was dragged to the green box at the park. Eiji wouldn't let go of her as he mulled over their lost. She just sighed and made herself comfortable in his arms.

"Oh, I knew I'd find you two here." Rio jumped and looked down to see Oishi with a smile on his face. He got up and sat next to Eiji who still had Rio in his arms. Oishi raised an eyebrow at her, making her shrug.

"Prefectuals, Kantou regionals, and then of course the Nationals!" Rio smiled and joined in on their cheers. When the sun finally set, Eiji picked up a sleeping Rio in his arms.

"Ne, Oishi, it's obvious that I like Rio-chan right?" The said teen smiled and nodded.

"Everyone has already noticed, Eiji. The question is: Why?"

The Golden Pair started walking to the Echizen house at the same time talking to each other. Eiji smiled and looked down at her sleeping form. "I was just attracted to him. I think as soon as I met him, I felt like I was a moth that was attracted to the flame. And for some reason, I want to protect him." Oishi looked at Rio and noticed that she was slightly sweating.

"Eiji, I think Rio's having a nightmare." The acrobatic gently shook her awake and sighed in relief when she opened her eyes. She looked at her surroundings and felt herself bouncing.

"Are you ok?" She looked up and saw Oishi and Eiji's worried faces. Then she remembered her nightmare.

'_Not that again…'_ She gave them a weak smile and nodded. Again she made herself comfortable in Eiji's arms and went back to sleep. Or so they thought. _'Bah, why those dreams? It's only been a year yet it still hurts…'_

….

The next day, Eiji was at the door choosing between doorbelling or not. When he decided, the door opened to see a disheveled Ryoma and his father. He blushed when Nanjirou stared at him. He cleared his throat and bowed. "My name's Kikumaru Eiji and I'm here to take Rio out on a date."

Time froze for Nanjirou as Eiji was continually sweating buckets. Ryoma snuck away from them and rushed up to their room. He roughly shook his sister awake and blocked the kick that was aimed at him.

"What the hell, Oma-chan? Why are you waking me up at this ungodly hour?" She sat up with her hair all over the place.

"Kikumaru-senpai's here, asking dad for permission to go out on a date with you." Rio abruptly got out of bed and ran to Ryoma's closet. She grabbed whatever she could find and rushed to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and changed into the clothes she got and placed the wig over her wet hair.

"Ew…gross, but it'll have to do for a while." She checked herself in the mirror and smiled at the results. She was wearing one of Ryoma's black shorts and a white shirt under a green polo. She hates the fact that she can't wear any of Ryoma's shirts. "Stupid Ryoma and his semi-fit shirts… If I wear one it'll be obvious." She fixed her wig and put on a white visor. She went back to their room to get her wallet and rushed downstairs to see her father and Eiji in a staring contest. Rio poked Nanjirou and glared at him.

Nanjirou noticed that his only daughter was wearing his son's clothes and raised an eyebrow. He then came to the conclusion that she still hasn't told anyone about her gender. He stifled a laugh as Ryoma dragged him to the car. "Rio-chan, you're gonna get it tonight!" He yelled as he drove away. Rio angrily sighed and ran her hand through her wig.

"Ne, Rio-chan, are you ok?" She looked up and blushed at his choice of clothes. He was wearing a pair of dark denim jeans and a black polo over an orange shirt. Eiji gave her a smile and gently grasped her hand.

"Mou you're making me feel like a girl, Eiji-senpai."

"But I don't want to be the one who feels like a girl."

"But I wanna feel like the guy in the relationship too!" They playfully glared at each other until Rio started giggling. "Hai, hai, I'll be the girl of the relationship." Eiji grinned and picked her up. "Senpai, put me down!" He twirled her around, making her squeal in surprise. "Mou, I don't wanna sound like a girl!" He chuckled and put her on his back. Rio wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.

"Where do you want to go, nya?" The acrobat asked as they walked around.

"The park! I wanna play at the playground."

"Okie! To the park!"

…

As the two walked around the park, Rio saw her brother at the corner of her eyes. She poked Eiji at the side and pointed at her bored brother. With a nod, the two sneaked up on him and saw that her brother stood up and walked up to Ryuzaki Sakuno. He slightly pushed her shoulders down to make her bend her knees. "Bend your knees more." He grasped her arm and made her tighten her grip on the racket. "Don't loosen your grip on the racket when you hit the ball."

While Ryoma densely gave her advice, Sakuno looked like she was about to pass out. _'Mou, Ryoma-kun's too close…'_ Sakuno thought as she tried to hit the ball but missed. She heard Ryoma sigh and returned to his seat.

He looked up and thought that he saw his sister and Eiji spying on them. He rubbed his eyes and shrugged. "It's not like she knows I'm here…" He sat back down and continued to watch over Sakuno's training while giving her advice. "Your hair's too long."

Rio and Eiji, who hid behind the bushes to hide, looked at the two again and sighed. "Ryoma's an idiot… Can't he see that Sakuno-chan likes him?"

"Un, then again, Ochibi's world is only tennis, nya?"

"You got that right…" Rio stared at them and smirked. "Ne, senpai, I got an idea." She started whispering her idea and smiled when Eiji grinned at the idea. "Yosh, operation blushing Ryoma and Sakuno begins!"

…..

Ryoma sighed once again as he stood up to fix her tennis stance. "You lock your elbows and knees, that's why it's hard for you to hit the ball." When Rio saw that chance, she made a cat noise, making Sakuno look behind her teacher. Ryoma also turned to look and raised an eyebrow when he couldn't see any cats. Eiji ran behind them and pushed Sakuno to Ryoma, making both of them fall to the ground. He giggled and bounced away from Ryoma's upcoming anger, if he ever found out.

"Itai…" Sakuno said as she tried to stand up. She looked down and saw Ryoma's slightly blushing face and blushed as well. "Ah, gomen, Ryoma-kun!" The shy female quickly stood up and tried not to look at Ryoma who cleared his throat and sat up. He dusted himself off and lowered his cap.

"I…think that's enough…for today. Do you want to get a drink?" Ryoma got his bag and waited for Sakuno to catch up to him. She was still red in the face but was happy that she gets to spend more time with the tennis prodigy.

Rio and Eiji got out of their hiding spot as soon as Ryoma and Sakuno were out of their sight. The duo gave each other a high-five and a peace sign. "That was a success!"

"Uu-nya! The perfect chance, did you get a photo, Rio-chan?" Rio grinned and showed her phone with Ryoma and Sakuno's blushing faces. "Ye-hey! A perfect shot!"

Rio put her phone back in her pocket and adjusted her visor. She looked around and saw a small ice cream stand just a few meters from them. "Ne, senpai, let's get ice cream!" She grabbed Eiji's hand and ran towards the stand. "You're paying!"

"Hello, what can I get you two?" The seller asked. Rio looked at the choices and smiled.

"Can I get a wafer cone with one scoop of Rocky Road, Cookie Dough and Vanilla?"

"Of course, and what can I get you?" The seller asked Eiji.

"Can I get a wafer cone with one scoop of Strawberry and Vanilla?"

"Coming right up!" The seller gave them their cones and Eiji paid for it. The two sat down on a bench and started eating their ice cream.

"YUM! This tastes so good!" Rio licked the ice cream and shivered in delight. She faced Eiji and saw that he had ice cream on his cheek. "Ah, senpai, you have ice cream on your cheek." Before Eiji could wipe it off, Rio licked it off his cheek. "Yum, strawberry's good too!" Eiji blushed and soon Rio blushed at what she did. "Ah, gomen, senpai." They continued eating their ice cream until there were none left. Rio stood up and stretched. "Ah, ice cream on a good day is awesome!"

"I agree, nya." Eiji stood up and grabbed her hand. "Now let's go to the pet store!"

"Hm, why?"

"Because they got new puppies and I want to see them with you!"

….

It was nightfall and Eiji and Rio were walking back to the Echizen house. "I had fun, senpai! Especially when the puppies started to attack you." Eiji weakly chuckled and rubbed his bruised arm.

"Their bites hurt, nya."

"Demo, they're still adorable! If only Kurorin and Karupin like dogs then I could've gotten a puppy!"

"You already have two pets, don't you think it'll hurt your father's account if you buy another?"

"Nah, he still has money from his pro days. And okaa-san's a lawyer so we're pretty much loaded but budgeted."

They were nearing the temple when they saw Ryoma running towards them with a terrified look on his face. He saw his sister and grabbed her hand without notice.

"Oi, Ochibi, Rio-chan!" Eiji chased after them but when they turned the corner, he lost them. He got out his phone and called the regulars who arrived after receiving the call. "Something's wrong and they just left. I went to their house and they told me that the twins haven't been home yet."

"We should look for them. Let's split up and whoever finds them, call us."

Meanwhile, Ryoma tightened his grip on his sister's hand and continued to run.

"Ryoma, what's wrong with you?"

"Nee-chan, they're here; CJ's family as well as Anna's family." Rio widened her eyes and followed her brother until they couldn't run because of fatigue. They sat on the ground, trying to catch their breath.

"Why are they here? How did they know that I'm here?"

"Well, it's not exactly their family-family, more like their mafia-side of the family."

"WHAT? Why?"

"I don't know, but we have to keep running. Okaa-san and oyaji are trying their best to stall." Ryoma stood up and pulled his tired sister up. He looked around and saw that they were somewhere in Shibuya. "Come on, let's go."

"But I'm tired, Ryoma…"

"Oi!" They turned around and saw Kaido running towards them.

"Let's go, nee-chan!" The twins ran until a car stopped in front of them. The door opened and hands grabbed the two.

"Let go of us!" Rio exclaimed as they tried to wiggle out of the person's grasp. Kaido stopped in front of them and tried to help when a gun placed on top of Ryoma's head.

"Move and this boy dies." Rio widened her eyes and struggled even more.

"Let go of him! It's me you want, not him!" She got her arm free and removed her wig. The man dropped Ryoma and knocked out Rio.

"Nee-chan!" The men in black got in the car and zoomed out with Ryoma still on the ground crying. Kaido slowly walked up to him and helped him up. He got out his phone and called everyone, telling them to meet at the Echizen house.

"Did you find Rio-chan and Ochibi?" Eiji yelled. Kaido was quiet for a while until he answered his senpai.

"Rio was…kidnapped." He heard the phone fall to the ground in a clatter. "Senpai?"

"KUSO!" Kaido winced when he heard the phone being smashed and closed his phone when he heard the dial tone. He looked at the crying freshman and up in the sky. He picked him up and let him rest on his back.

"Nee-chan…"

* * *

_**WOOHOO! I'm on a roll! Updating after 2 days! I guess it's because:**_

_**1) Two people are nagging at me to update and**_

_**2) I'm enjoying the way the story's going! **_

**_I feel accomplished. *bows*_**

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis. _**


	11. Revelations I

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 11 – Revelations I**

"Ugh…my head…" Rio blinked her golden eyes to adjust to the darkness. She tried to move her limbs but they were tied up. She looked around and felt her eyes start to tear up. "I'm so stupid…"

"You got that right." She snapped her head up when the lights turned on. In front of her was a male that looked like he was in university. His light brown hair was swept to the side and his brown eyes glared daggers at her.

"Is she the one that hurt my cousin, Jake?" A female that looked like she was the same age as the male stepped up. Her curly blond hair was tied up in a pony tail while her blue eyes had the same rage as the male next to her. "Ah, she is the one. Anna told me how you practically had her disabled for the rest of her life."

"She's not disabled! She can still walk and play tennis!"

"Shut up, kid!" Rio's head was snapped to side from the impact of the female's slap. "She said she can only play 2-3 games until she passes out from exhaustion."

"Maybe it's because she doesn't have the endurance to begin with."

"I said shut up!" Rio groaned when she kicked her stomach. "Teach her a lesson, Jake!" Cracking of knuckles could be heard as the weak female looked up.

"This is for my brother CJ." And soon it was black.

…..

It's been three days and still no sign of Echizen Rio. The situation with Akutsu Jin from Yamabuki has passed but not forgotten. In two days the semifinals and finals of the prefectuals will commence yet some of the regulars' hearts are not in the game. Or specifically, two people.

"Kikumaru, Echizen, 20 laps around the court!" The regulars watched with sad eyes as the two mentioned ran their laps.

"Mou, I can't take it anymore!" Momo exclaimed as he gripped his hair. "Haven't the police found any clue as to where Rio is?" His young best friend looked like he was ready to cry any moment now.

"Not that I know of and I've been in contact with Echizen's family." Oishi said as he watched his doubles partner suffer.

"What are you gathered around here for? 10 laps around the court!" The remaining regulars winced and sighed.

"If Tezuka-buchou's worried then he knows how to NOT show it." Momo mumbled as they all did their laps. Fuji walked up to Tezuka and opened his sapphire eyes.

"Tezuka, are you ok?"

"I am now go do your laps."

"Just tell us if you want to quit practice and look for Rio."

"20 laps."

Fuji chuckled and started running. At the corner of his eyes, Eiji and Ryoma were at a corner mumbling to each other. His eyes widened at their attempt to leave practice. And their success. He watched them leave the school grounds and stopped at where Tezuka was staring at the gates. "I think it's time for us to quit practice, ne?"

"First years, gather the balls and clean the courts! Second years, help them!"

"Hai!"

"Regulars, meeting in the clubroom!"

"Hai!"

In the clubroom, Tezuka stood up and addressed everyone, including Ryuzaki-sensei who knew what would happen. "Regulars, spilt up and continue to search for Rio. He might've not gone far from Tokyo." Everyone smiled and bowed.

"Hai!" And out they went. Ryuzaki-sensei walked up to Tezuka who was getting ready to go outside. She gave him the keys to the clubroom and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go, and you have the keys to the clubroom since everyone left their things." Tezuka nodded and left, leaving a smiling teacher behind.

…

During her three-day captivity, the two university students laughed manically as they watched Rio suffer blow after blow. After a few more hits from the men in black, they smirked at her bruised and bloody body. "That's what you get for messing with mafia families."

Rio looked up and spat blood at their feet. "If I didn't know any better," she coughed out. "You're just playing mafia."

Jake glared at her and gave her an uppercut. He grabbed her hair and pulled her up. "Shut up, kid. We're just returning the favor for my brother and her cousin." He threw her to the side and smirked when he heard her head connect to the wall. Immediately she was knocked out with blood flowing under her head.

"That'll teach you for ruining CJ and Anna's future." Jake smirked and looked at Sofia. She got out a knife and let it shine in the light. "I'll make sure you never have a future!"

The doors burst open to see a group of teens. A red haired teen glared at the men in black as he blew his green bubblegum. "Ah, this is troublesome. Why do we have to do this, Sanada?"

A caped teen glared at him and hit him on the head. "Shut up and save her, Marui!"

A rat-tailed teen smirked and stared at the glaring men. "Puri~."

Jake and Sofia shook out of their shock and glared at them. "What are you waiting for? Get them!"

A seaweed haired teen licked his lips and smirked. "I'm going to crush you all!"

….

"Rio! Where are you, Rio?" Eiji and Ryoma yelled as they searched for their missing person. Behind them were the remaining regulars who split up to find her. It was already sunset when Ryoma got a phone call from his family.

"_Ryoma, they found her!" _

"They…found Rio…" Ryoma was about to drop his phone when it was taken away from him.

"Really? Where is he? Is he ok?" Eiji frantically screamed.

"_Calm down, Kikumaru-san! At this moment she's in critical condition and is being flied to the Tokyo Hospital."_ Eiji did not notice the change of pronoun as he gave the phone to Ryoma and started running to the said hospital. Ryoma ran after him and started calling the others.

"_Ok, I'm the nearest to the hospital. I'll make sure he's ok."_ Taka-san said as he hung up.

Ryoma and Eiji were the last ones to arrive and most of them had shocked and confused faces while some of them had worried ones. Ryoma ran up to his crying mother and tried to comfort her along with his father.

"Seigaku?" They turned around and saw a group of Rikkaidai students who had bandages on their faces.

"Rikkai? What are you guys doing here?" Oishi asked.

"We were asked to look after the girl we saved in Kanagawa. Her body was bloody and bruised, it was hard to recognize her under all that blood," Sanada said.

"We heard screaming coming from the warehouses near the beach and we thought we might check it out. When we saw being beaten up, we immediately went in to save her." Rinko looked up and gasped.

"You're the boys that saved Rio!" She walked up to them and started bowing. "Thank you so much for saving her and for helping us catch her kidnappers!"

"Did you really, Sanada?" Tezuka asked.

"Until now we didn't know her name but yes, I think we saved Rio."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Everyone turned to face a shocked Eiji. "Isn't Rio a guy? What's with all the 'girl' and 'her'?" Ryoma looked guiltily at his senpai. It was quiet, the regulars who knew her secret was silent.

"Senpai, nee-chan disguised herself as a guy because of this reason but it didn't work and she still got hurt." The young prodigy clutched his fists tighter. "If only I was stronger…" A hand grabbed his tight fist, making him look up. His mother sadly smiled and hugged him.

"You're strong, they just caught you both in surprise." The doctor appeared with a grave face. Nanjirou stood up to face the doctor.

"Is she ok?" The doctor looked in his clipboard and sighed.

"She's stabilized but at this moment she's in a coma and we don't know when she'll wake up."

"Is…is it ok for us to visit her?"

"Not recommended but I suppose you can." The Rikkaidai students sighed in relief and turned around.

"We see that she's in good hands." They waved as they watched the Seigaku regulars and the Echizen family enter the elevators.

_**Rio's POV**_

Where…where am I? Why do I only see black? Is this revenge for last year? I can't move my arms. I can't move my legs. Why am I having trouble breathing?

Am I dying?

I remember my head being smacked into the wall and the doors being burst open.

Who saved me?

…

_**Normal POV**_

It's been a week and Rio has yet to wake up. It was early in the morning when Eiji visited with a bouquet of daisies. There was no one with Rio because the doctors were worried about the family's well being after staying up late and Eiji had volunteered to come early in the morning to watch until someone comes. He replaced the wilting flowers on her bedside table and sat down on the chair next to her. He gently caressed her head and ran his hand through her long hair. "Why didn't you tell me…?" He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Please wake up…it's not the same without you…"

The door opened to reveal Sanada Gen'ichirou. He walked over to the depressed Eiji and patted him on the shoulder. The grateful acrobatic sadly smiled and continued to look at his first love. "Is there something you need, Sanada-san?"

"No, I just came by to see if she woke up. My team has been waiting to see if she did."

"Thank you for your concern. Rio still hasn't woken up but I wish she did… I want to hear her voice again…" Sanada sighed and adjusted the strap of his bag.

"Well, let me know when she wakes up." And with that he left.

Eiji put his head near their holding hands and felt his eyes tear up. He immediately wiped his tears and frowned. "Don't cry, Rio will make fun of me if she ever found out." The door opened once again and in came Ryoma with a bag of clothes. He placed the bag at the foot of her bed and sat down on the chair across from her.

"Has she woken up yet?" Eiji shook his head and tightened his grip on her hand. He glanced at her pale face and her long black hair.

"Why didn't she tell any of us? We could've helped you all."

"She didn't want any of you to get hurt. She's that kind of person," he looked at his sister with a poker face. "Are you angry at her?"

"At first I was but as I continue to listen to you, my anger died down and all I can think of is her getting better." They continued to talk until Rinko arrived around sunset.

"I think you should go home, Kikumaru-san. We'll tell you when she wakes up." Eiji nodded and was about to let go of her hand when he felt her finger move.

"Rio!" He retained his grip on her hand and looked at her with hopeful eyes. His sapphire eyes shone in happiness when he saw her eyes flicker and look at him.

"Sen…pai…" She coughed out.

"Shh, don't strain yourself. I'm here."

"Gomenasai…for lying to all of you…" Eiji smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, nya. You have a good reason." Ryoma noticed his senpai's signature onomatopoeia and smiled. Rio closed her eyes and tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I can't feel any of my limbs… Will I be able to play tennis again…?" The acrobat smiled and wiped her tears.

"You'll be fine. I'm here, as well as your family and the tennis club." He gently placed her head on his chest and let her cry her heart out. "I never let you go, never again."

Rio fell asleep once again and Eiji lovingly smiled at her as he brushed a stray hair from her face.

"Never again, Midori-chan…"

…

Three days after Rio woke up, Yukimura Seiichi was admitted to the hospital for his Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The Rikkaidai team sullenly went inside the hospital and watched their captain being wheeled away from them. "He'll get better. He has to." Akaya said as he tried to keep his tears at bay. "We'll win the Kantou tournament for him!"

"Ara, Rikkai?" Sanada waved at the mother-hen of Seigaku. "Did I just see Yukimura-san?"

"He's being admitted…for his Guillain-Barre Syndrome."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Please give our regards." Oishi was about to leave when he forgot something. "Ah, Sanada-san, Rio has woken up. She said she would like to meet her saviors." Sanada gave a small smile and nodded.

"Marui, Niou, Akaya, do you want to visit her?"

"Of course, puri."

"Let's greet the muse of Seigaku!"

The four stopped at the door and raised an eyebrow at the yelling inside.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'UGLY'?"

"Nya! What I meant was that you look sickly!"

"OF COURSE I LOOK SICKLY! THAT'S WHY I'M IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT? AND YOU! STOP LAUGHING YOUR ASS OFF, BakaOma!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

They looked at each other with nervous chuckles. Sanada opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the cowering Eiji and the glaring twins. He cleared his throat to get their attention but nothing worked. He twitched and was about to yell at them when a tennis ball whizzed past his head. He saw Rio whose eyes were wide and calmed down on her bed. Ryoma looked at the door and raised an eyebrow. Eiji stood up and smiled. "Ah, Sanada-san! Nice to see you again!"

"Nice to see you too, Kikumaru-kun, but is this a bad time…?"

"Ah, nah, we just had a disagreement. Anyway, what can we do for you all, nya?"

"We heard that she's awake so we decided to drop by." Eiji smiled and bounced to Rio's side.

"Ne, Rio-chan, this is Sanada, Niou, Marui and Akaya. They were the ones that saved you in Kanagawa!" Rio smiled and bowed her head.

"Thank you for saving me. Sorry for all the trouble."

Akaya slightly blushed and bowed. "It's no trouble at all, especially if we get to save a cute girl like you!" He felt someone glaring at him and looked up to see an angry Eiji. He stood up straight and hid behind a laughing Marui.

"Don't you remember that Kikumaru's her boyfriend?" Niou said after a few giggles.

"Eh, I didn't know! I must be running laps when he said that."

"Ya, the laps I tricked you into doing, puri."

"Why you-!"

"Tarundoru!" Rio giggled and smiled at all of them.

"Thank you for the visit but how did you know I was awake?"

Sanada sat on the chair next to her and sighed. "Our captain, Yukimura, was admitted a few minutes ago for Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Oishi saw us and told us that you were awake so we decided to visit."

"Well, thank you again but I think you want to be with our captain more, right?" Sanada nodded and stood up.

"We'll visit again soon, Rio-san."

"And I'll be expecting you. Mata ne!"

The Rikkaidai regulars left, leaving a glaring Eiji and Rio and a sighing Ryoma. "Aahh, I'm leaving. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." He left the room with a smirk on his face.

"URUSAI, BAKAOMA!"

It was silent for a while until Eiji sighed and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, taking notice of the wires still connected to her. She smiled and leaned back, making herself comfortable in his arms. "Ne, senpai, can we go outside? The moon looks pretty tonight."

"Alright." He called for a nurse to help him with the wires and helped her into her wheelchair. With the IV drip placed above Rio, the nurse warned them not to be out too late since it's late at night. Eiji pushed her to the garden behind the hospital and smiled at her joyful face.

"Kya, it's so beautiful…" She smiled, clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. _**"I see the moon and the moon sees me,**__** a**__**nd the moon sees somebody that I want to see."**_

"What did you say, Rio-chan?" She opened her eyes and lovingly smiled at his confused face.

"Nothing, Ei-chan," Eiji chuckled and sat on the bench next to her. "Though I still wonder how you figured out I was Midori when we were young."

"Hehe, it's your long hair. Midori-chan always kept it long when we were young and I always commented on it. After seeing it, I had lots of flashbacks and I put two and two together and I got my long lost love." She blushed and smiled.

"Ne, senpai, you remember a few weeks ago…your confession?" Eiji nodded. "Well, um…I…" He smiled and hugged her.

"Arigatou, Rio-chan." Rio gave him the biggest grin she could muster and returned the hug. When they broke the hug, Eiji put his forehead on hers. "I might kiss you." She blushed and looked away.

"I might be bad at it." He chuckled and gently made her face him again.

"It's not possible." The two leaned for a kiss and felt like fireworks exploded within them. They broke the kiss and shared a blushing smile. They let the moonlight shine on them as they shared a comfortable silence.

"Senpai, aren't you going to ask about why they kidnapped me?" Eiji looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pester but tell me soon ok?"

"But I feel like I should tell you now…" He grabbed her chin and kissed her nose. He chuckled when he saw her blushing face.

"Tell me when you're ready, nya?"

"Arigatou, Eiji-senpai."

"Mou, we're a couple now! Just call me Eiji, nya!"

"Ei-chan?"

"Even better!" She laughed as he did some acrobatic moves around her. "Yay, Rio-chan and I are finally together!"

"Be careful, you're gonna hit-!" BONK. "…the tree…" Rio was giggling as Eiji was seeing stars. She rolled up to him and tried to help him up as best as she could. Eiji smiled and placed his head on her lap, playfully meowing like a cat as she rubbed his head.

"Ne, Rio-chan, promise me one thing."

"Nani?"

"Let me protect you, just as I promised when we were children."

"You still remembered?"

"Of course, it's a promise that I intend to keep from now on."

* * *

**_2 days in a row! Man, this is a huge accomplishment! I should celebrate! _**

**____****"I see the moon and the moon sees me,**_** a**__**nd the moon sees somebody that I want to see." - I found it online and I liked it! :)**_

**____****Oooh and the reason for the title has been revealed! What'll happen next?**

**____****I used a few sentences from a movie, anyone could guess what movie it is? :D**

**____****REVIEW PLEASE! I wanna see how many people would like it. :)**

**____****DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis **


	12. Revelations II

**Just As I Promised**

**Chapter 12 – Revelations II**

Today's the day when Seigaku participates in the Kantou regionals and Rio's stuck in the hospital with a sullen look on her face. She looked outside her window and saw the regulars waving at her window and smiled. She waved back until they were out of sight. She slowly put her hand down and sighed. "I feel lonely…" Someone knocked, shaking her out of her thoughts. "Ah, come in!"

"I hope I'm not intruding anything, Echizen-chan." She smiled and shook her head.

"Oh, not at all, Yukimura-san! Do you want to come and sit next to me? I could use the company." The blue haired teen smiled and sat next to her. "So how are you, Yukimura-san?"

"Feeling a bit better, thank you for asking. And you?" Rio sighed and looked at her limp legs.

"I…still can't feel my legs. I'm scared to think that I might not be able to walk in the future…" She saw his hand grab hers and sadly smiled. "Thank you for your concern… I just wish I'm at the courts cheering them on."

"I feel the same way but for now we have to wait…"

…..

"Then Akaya was tricked into doing 100 laps." Yukimura said, making the female Echizen laugh. "That Niou…"

"Really? That's funny! Wow, it looks like you guys have fun in your club."

"From your stories, I say Seigaku has more fun than Rikkai." The door opened and in came a grinning Eiji with a bouquet of roses.

"Rio-chan! I have great news!" He slightly frowned to see Yukimura sitting next to her. He walked up to her and kissed her forehead. Rio lovingly smiled at him and gently touched the beautiful roses.

"These are beautiful, Ei-chan…" He smiled and let their noses touch. "Thank you…"

"Ahem." They blushed and Eiji reluctantly pulled back and gave a strained smile at the Child of God. "I'm sorry to interrupt your session but I must be leaving now."

'_Why didn't you just leave without notice, nya?'_

"Oh of course, Yukimura-san. Thank you for the company today." Rio said while bowing her head.

"No problem, Echizen-chan. If you'll excuse me," he nodded to Eiji, who forced a nod, and left the room. Eiji let out a sigh and raised an eyebrow at Rio.

"What? He keeps me company while you guys have school." He shrugged and smiled.

"Ne, ne, we won! Against Hyotei!" Rio smiled and hugged him.

"That's great! I want you tell me all the details." He shook his head and got out a tape. "No way…"

"Hehe, I asked Shiba-san for a copy earlier. Now we can both watch it together!"

When night came, Rinko opened door and smiled at the scene before her. She turned off the TV and pulled the blanket over the sleeping couple. "So when are the two of you going to tell us about your progress?" She giggled and got out some paperwork for her to work on. Ryoma entered the room and raised an eyebrow at his sister and senpai.

"I don't want to know…" Rinko looked up and chuckled.

"Your sister's growing up. Ahh, it feels like she's flying away from us."

"Yadda, I'll never let nee-chan go."

"Sooner or later you'll have to accept that, Ryoma."

"We're twelve, I still have her 'till she's sixteen." Rinko chuckled at her stubborn son and ruffled his black hair.

"Hai, hai, Ryoma. Now be quiet, they're still sleeping."

….

Rio sadly smiled at the photos being showed to her. It was the day when the regulars watched the sunset together. She sighed and closed the album. Fuji gently placed the small album back on the table next to her and grabbed her hand. "Any news on your legs?" Rio nodded.

"I don't have any problems on my spine so it's not that. The doctor said it might be the shock and that the feeling will come back soon."

"How about the wires?"

"I'm fine without it. They said I can be checked out if I come back every other week for a check-up. They want to monitor my legs." She wiped a lone tear from her face and looked outside. She saw Eiji with Oishi and Tezuka walking towards the hospital and slightly smiled.

"Saa, don't worry. We're still here, ne, Rio." She nodded and nodded at the people that came in. "Ah, Oishi, Tezuka, Eiji, you're here."

"Fujiko, why are you here?" Fuji pointed at the album.

"I wanted to show Rio our trip to watch the sunrise a few days ago." Oishi smiled and got out something from his bag.

"Here, Rio, we all chipped in and bought this teddy bear for you. It was Momo's idea." She saw all the messages on the bear and smiled.

"Arigatou, Oishi-senpai. Well, any reason you guys are here?" Tezuka cleared his throat and sat on the chair in front of her bed.

"I'm leaving for Germany in two days." Rio widened her eyes and clutched her knuckles tighter.

"It's for your shoulder, right, buchou?" He nodded and closed his eyes.

"I'll be back before Nationals, 'till then Oishi will be captain and you will be vice-captain."

"Wait, WHAT?" Everyone looked at their captain with disbelieving eyes. "Are you serious, buchou? Why couldn't you assign Fuji-senpai? He's more capable of being vice-captain!"

"Rio, since you're not playing in any games, this will be a way for you to vent your stress."

"Demo, I have Ryoma for that! Buchou, I can't take up your offer. Besides, many had already found out that there's a girl in Seigaku. I don't want ruin more of Seigaku's pride. "

"Which is exactly why you'll be vice-captain. You're the muse of Seigaku, as Rikkai had put it."

"Demo," she looked at her legs. "I still can't walk, let alone feel my legs. How am I going to fulfill my duties as temporary vice-captain?"

Tezuka stood up and got his bad. "You'll think of something. Yudan sezu ni ikou." And with that, he left with Oishi and Fuji following behind.

"Do you think it's wise to put her in that spot? I can handle being a captain without her."

"Iie, Rio has attributes that can help bring Seigaku to victory, whether or not she plays."

"And what are those attributes, Tezuka?" Fuji asked with his eyes open.

"You'll find out."

…..

Rio was being pushed by Momo to the tennis courts where many of the boys were glaring at her. She put her head down and felt her eyes start to water. "Oi, Rio-chan, don't mind them. You're our vice-captain now. You have more authority than us."

"But that's just it; I don't want to get special treatment."

They entered the courts with the members all lined up. Oishi patted her on the shoulder and smiled at everyone. "Everyone, meet our temporary vice-captain, Echizen Rio."

"Why her? She lied to all of us," Arai accusingly said. Rio sadly smiled and nodded.

"And for that I am truly sorry. But if I didn't lie, all of you would have been in grave danger. Ryoma would not be here if I didn't reveal myself to my kidnappers."

"Prove to us that you're truly sorry."

"I would if I could feel my legs. But I guess I won't hold a racket for a while and just watch you all from afar, how about that?"

"No!" All heads turned to face the freshmen trio. "Rio-san may have lied to us but she knows her stuff. Without her, all of us non-regulars would not have improved our tennis."

Ever since her arrival, Rio has worked with the non-regulars while the regulars practiced. She watched over their progress and encouraged them to continue. Even Arai has to admit that he has improved because of her.

Rio smiled and nodded to her fellow freshmen. "Thank you, guys but if they don't want any more help from me, then so be it."

"Rio-san!" She faced a second year with blue hair. "Please continue in helping us improve!"

"Ikeda!" Arai explained. A few more stepped up and bowed in front of her. When he saw that many of the members are staring at him, he sighed and smirked. "Fine, you win. Make Seigaku the best tennis club, ne?"

She her eyes lit up and gave everyone a big grin. "You got it!" Oishi stepped up and smiled.

"Ok, regulars, onto Block 1, Courts A and B. Second years on Block 2, Courts A and B, and First years on Block 2, Courts C and D."

"Hai!" As Eiji pushed her, Rio grabbed onto her chair for dear life. Fuji chuckled and faced Oishi.

"Do you think this is what Tezuka was talking about?" Oishi looked at the arguing couple and smiled.

"Yea, besides, don't those two have an announcement to make?"

"Ah that? Everyone already knows from their behavior. I doubt that they're trying to hide it."

They heard whining and sweatdropped at the sight of Eiji on the floor with a huge bump on his head and a fuming Rio wheeling herself to Block 2.

"Yup, they're not hiding it."

…

"Don't flick your wrists! It'll cause injury in the future!" Rio barked as she observed the non-regulars. "Make sure your grip on the racket is firm when you swing so it won't fly off." Kachirou walked up to her and shyly smiled.

"Rio-san, can you help me with my swing? After swinging for a while, my arm starts to ache." Rio smiled and nodded.

"Ok, show me your swing." Kachirou nodded and started swinging. She observed his swing and raised her hand for him to stop. "Hold your racket at the end so that it's easier for you to swing it. Don't flick your wrists and make sure that your stance is correct. Make sure you do proper warm-ups too, ok?" He smiled and nodded.

"Arigatou, Rio-fukubuchou!" She blushed and waved him off. Momo walked up to her and gave her a noogie.

"How's it going, Rio-fukubuchou?"

"Mou, Momo-senpai!" She pinched his arm and fixed her hair. He smiled and gave her her racket. "Huh?"

"Can you serve? I need to improve my backhand." She nodded and wheeled herself to the baseline. She picked up a ball from the basket and prepared to serve.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Rio nodded and gave him a slice serve. When Momo returned it, her hair flew crazily behind her. She looked behind her and saw that it was out.

"Senpai, don't use too much power unless you have the stamina for it so that your aim will be better." She served again and smiled when he didn't use as much power as he did before.

Training went on 'till everyone could see the sun set. Oishi smiled at Rio's joyful face and addressed everyone. "First years, pick up all the balls and clean the courts. Second years, clear the nets. See you all tomorrow."

Ryoma walked up to his sister and started pushing her home. Next to them were Momo and Eiji who were trying to convince them to go get some burgers with them. "Sure, if Eiji-senpai treats us." The said boy twitched and weakly smiled.

"How about we pay for our own food?"

"Yadda, if you'll excuse us." Rio was about to argue when Eiji stopped in front of them.

"Alright, alright, nya!" He grabbed the handles of Rio's wheelchair and gently turned her around. "I'll treat you guys."

Ryoma smirked and gave the powerhouse a high-five. "Hook, line and sinker." When they got to Wacdonalds, the two started a competition on who would eat the most, making their senior sigh as he stared at his wallet. They all sat at a table and went in their own businesses.

"Ne, Ei-chan, do you want some fries?" Rio asked as she took a bite out of her burger. She noticed how depressed Eiji looked and giggled. "Hai, hai, here's my half. Do you honestly expect me to make you pay for these two?" Eiji widened his eyes and tried to refuse the money.

"Demo, you shouldn't pay! You're the girl!"

"We're not on a date, Ei-chan." Once the word got out, Ryoma and Momo stopped eating and stared at the two arguing. "Look, when we're on a date, you can pay all you want, but if it involves two never-ending stomachs, I'll help pay."

"Are you and Eiji-senpai dating?" Momo asked after swallowing his food. With a blunt nod from both of them, he choked on his drink. "REALLY?"

"I thought you of all people would notice it. Everyone did and congratulated us." Rio said as she let a fry limp from her lips. Eiji smirked and kissed her, taking the fry from her. "Ei-chan!"

"Your fries taste better since they came from you, nya." She blushed and took a sip from her coke. After drinking, she gave it to Eiji who took a sip from it too. Ah, did I forget to tell everyone that they're sharing their food because of their empty pockets? Courtesy of Echizen Ryoma and Momoshiro Takeshi.

"By the way, Ririn," Rio twitched. "Why did those people kidnap you?" Eiji and Ryoma glared at the junior. "What?"

"Shh, Momo! It's still a touchy subject!" Eiji said.

"It's ok, Ei-chan. I don't mind anymore."

_Flashback – A Year Ago_

"_Rio-chan, come on, open the door," her mother said as she heard her daughter's tears._

"_Go away!" _

"_You have to eat, my dear. Please, open the door for your mother." _

"_Leave me alone!" Rio yelled, making her mother sigh. She placed tray of food on the floor and sadly looked at Rio's door. _

_Behind the door, she clutched her black tennis racket as she continued to cry. Rio looked out the window and saw that it was nearing sunset so she changed into her tennis clothes, which consisted of a pair of black shorts, grabbed her tennis bag and jumped out her window. She looked at her house and sighed. She ran to the nearest tennis courts and decided to hit some balls to release some stress. _

"_My, my if it isn't Rio Echizen," the said girl turned around and glared at the two kids. _

"_What do you want, CJ, Anna?" The girl smirked and ran her hand through Rio's short hair and pulled it. Rio winced and narrowed her eyes at the smug girl._

"_Oh nothing, Rio, really, aren't we friends?"_

"_Does humiliating me in front of the whole grade mean friends?" She winced again as Anna pulled her hair. "Let go of me." _

"_Hm, let me think…no." Rio turned around and was about to hit her racket on Anna, when she smirked. She let all her knowledge and ethics on tennis fly from her mind and let revenge in. _

"_How about this? Let's play tennis; if I win, you stop humiliating me. If I lose, you can continue what you're doing now." CJ and Anna smirked at each other and nodded. "Oh by the way, I'll play both of you at once." _

…_._

"_Stop, Echizen!" CJ begged as he ducked another smash aimed at him. He was bruised all over and felt himself weaving in and out consciousness. He heard her laugh and widened his eyes as he felt the heavy ball hit his stomach._

"_Rio, stop it!" Anna screamed as she watched CJ fall to the ground. _

"_As if I'll stop! I'm enjoying this!" Rio smirked and served, letting the ball twist and hit Anna's pretty little face. As she watched Anna clutch her face, she laughed and laughed until she felt her racket being taken away from her. She turned around and saw her father's glaring eyes. "Dad…"_

"_Rio, you know you shouldn't use tennis to bring pain to people! I taught you better!" _

"_But dad, they're the one that made me like this! They're the ones who've been making my life a living hell!"_

"_Quiet! Now, we're bringing them to the hospital and calling their parents. You better explain and hope that nothing else might happen."_

_Once they got to the hospital, Nanjirou glared at his daughter and the parents of CJ and Anna. "I know my daughter has hurt your children but in all fairness, they started it."_

"_How? My daughter's an angel!"_

"_As if she's an angel!" Rio yelled. "They're the ones that told the teacher to leave me in an aquarium three hours from here!" _

"_You have no proof!" _

"_We're suing you and your family!" Nanjirou put his crying daughter behind him and glared at the parents._

"_You should be ashamed of yourselves, not knowing about your children's activities. My daughter hasn't been to school for two weeks because of them." _

"_What a lie!" And with that, the parents left. Nanjirou kneeled to make eye contact with his daughter and wiped her flowing tears. _

"_Shh, stop crying. It'll be fine. We'll move, how about that? We'll go to Japan and live there, ok?" He picked up his daughter and let her cry until she fell asleep. "Oh Rio…"_

_End of Flashback_

"You mean, for two whole months, you've withstand bullying?" Momo asked as they walked home. Rio nodded and looked at the moon above them.

"I know it might sound petty but before I couldn't handle the words and the hurt they threw at me. The teachers and our parents tried to help but I was too scared."

"But you're strong and brave now, and that's all that matters." Eiji smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"Arigatou, Ei-chan. Demo, I know their family won't stop until they know I can't walk." Eiji tsked and flicked her forehead. "Itai!"

"Remember my promise? Besides, we're all here for you. I bet Rikkai wants to help too." Rio smiled and nodded. "Ne, will you be ok when verse Josei Shonan?"

"Yea, I'll be fine. I'm sure Sakuno-san can watch over me while you guys play."

"Ah, then it's decided! Rio-chan will be a cheerleader!"

"EH?" Momo smirked and wrapped his arm on her shoulders.

"I heard from the loud freshman that they'll have cheerleading outfits for the game! I'll tell them to make one for you."

"Yadda! Ryoma, push me away from these two!"

"Rio-chan!"

"Ririn!"

"YADDDAA!"

* * *

**_Another chapter out! It feels good to update. XD_**

**_Anyway, this story might be my first complete multi-chaptered story! WOOHOO! :)_**

**_Please REVIEW. Reviews fuel my inspiration to write. _**

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis._**


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